Balrampur (UP), Dec 25 (PTI) A 22-year-old woman belonging to the Tharu tribal community was killed by a leopard while collecting firewood in the Sohelwa forest area here on Thursday, officials said.
The
incident occurred in the Bhambhar range of the forest. Kamla Devi, a resident of Vishwapur Kodar village in the Pachpedwa area, had entered the forest with a group of women to collect wood, according to Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Gaurav Garg.
The DFO said a leopard attacked the woman, prompting other women to flee back to the village to alert locals. Upon receiving information, a forest department team reached the spot and recovered the body. It has been sent for post-mortem examination.
Garg added that three teams from the forest department have been deployed to track the leopard. Trap cameras are also being installed in and around the vicinity of the attack site.
District Magistrate Vipin Jain said the forest department has been instructed to capture the animal by placing cages in the area.
He said the post-mortem is being conducted and that ex-gratia assistance will be provided to the victim’s family once the report is received.
The District Magistrate has directed officials to launch an awareness campaign to prevent future wildlife attacks. Authorities have urged villagers to avoid entering forest areas and to immediately report any sighting of wild animals to the administration or the forest department. PTI CORR ABN AKY
