Leopard couple kills another boy in Rajouri

Jammu, Oct 9 (UNI) Resentment prevails in the Rajouri district as the man-eater leopard couple claimed another life of a three and half-year-old boy, whose body was buried this morning.

The animals who entered India from Pakistan soon after the killer earthquake last year, have already claimed at least eight lives so far in the past one year.

The victim has been identified as Mohammad Javed, son of Zubaid, a resident of village Kot Behrot in Thanna Mandi area of district Rajouri.

The incident occurred at around 2015 hrs on Saturday when the boy was playing in the compound of his house at Kot hamlet. The wild beast suddenly pounced upon the little boy and took him away to the nearby jungle, sources said.

The family members rushed out after hearing the screams of the boy but could not help due to darkness and swift action of the man-eater. They sounded an alert in the entire village and the people came out with lathis and guns.

Army troops from a nearby camp and the police also joined the villagers in the search operation. The semi-eaten body of the boy was found after an hour.

A senior officer of the state wildlife department, however, claimed that shoot at sight orders had already been issued by the chief wildlife warden to eliminate the leopards.

According to the police sources, there is only one leopard, but the eye witnesses have claimed the presence of atleast two leopard in the forest of border areas.

The terror of the leopard surfaced on December 23 last year, when the man-eater leopard attacked Neeraj Kumar, son of Jagdish, near Nowshera and seriously injured him.

A police official said they were on a look out for the creature, adding that very soon the terror of the leopard will be eliminated in this border region.

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