Leopard killed in Kashmir; Government seeks report

Srinagar, Jan 18: Two months after a bear was burned and killed by an irate mob in Tral area on November 18 last year, a leopard was beaten to death in Pulwama district of south Kashmir last evening.

Police said locals of Chak Chotipora village, about 7 km from Shopian, spotted a leopard on a tree last evening.

As the villagers tried to chase the wild animal, the leopard wounded one of them.

On hearing the news, more locals joined the chase and caught hold of the leopard just outside the village, about 65 km from here.

Police said the leopard was beaten to death by the villagers with sticks and stones. The carcass of the leopard was lying in the Shopian police station, they added.

The incident came exactly two months after a wild bear was burned and killed by an irate mob of 4000 people in Tral area on November 18 last year.

The video footage, telecast by a private TV channel a month after the incident, had led to serious condemnation by animal rights activists, including former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi.

The wildlife authorities termed the incident as ''shameful and unfortunate'' and launched investigations into the entire episode.

Principal Chief Conservator Forests (PCCF) Irshad Khan was asked to conduct an inquiry into the incident in which four wildlife officials were attached and about a dozen villagers arrested.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Wildlife Warden A K Srivastava has sought a detailed report of the incident from the Divisional Forest Officer (Territorial) who was present at the scene, sources said.

They said the official would soon submit his report to the authorities giving details of the circumstances that led to the killing of the leopard by the villagers.

The sources said the locals apparently thought the leopard was a man-eater. Besides, the reports of killing of four children by a man-eater leopard in Chatergul area of Anantnag district within a week might have created a panic reaction among the villagers and as such they chased and later beat the animal to death, they added.

In just a week, the man-eater leopard had killed four children in Chatergul area. On January 13, eight-year-old Rayeesa Mir was taken away by the animal and police said the locals found her mauled head and clothes from a nearby forest area the next morning. On January 12, one Beauty Jan was attacked and wounded by a leopard in the same area. The girl was rushed to a hospital, but she succumbed to her wounds on the way.

On January 9, the leopard had killed a ten-year-old Shabina Akthar in nearby Utrasoo village. One more child was killed by the animal.

The killings had triggered massive protests by the locals who were allegedly beaten up by police. The government had later assured that the police personnel found involved in dealing unlawfully would be taken to task and action under rules initiated against them.

The sources said top Wildlife officials have been camping at Panchalthan for the past few days to trap the man-eater leopard which continued to remain elusive.

The Jammu and Kashmir government had already announced a reward of Rs 10,000 to a person who would provide information about the location of the leopard or trap the animal.

In view of the alarming situation, all the agencies concerned such as the Wildlife department, police, para-military forces, the Forest Protection Force and the Army have been directed to trap the leoprad and ensure the safety and security of the people.

The people have been urged to cooperate with government agencies engaged in trapping the animal for which police and the wildlife department have formed seven special and two quick response teams.

The teams would set up ambush at the identified locations to nab the leopard and pressed into service on receiving a news regarding the presence of any wild animal in a particular area.

Wild animals have killed more than 15 people in Kashmir since November last year. Officials said there were 60-70 incidents of man-animal conflicts in the Valley last year.

Experts say population explosion, disturbance in natural habitat of wild animals and people moving to forest areas were major factors of the recent increase in incidence of man-animal conflict.

UNI