Banaskantha (Guj), July 04: Locals of a village here killed a leopard that had sneaked into the locality and attacked nine persons including a forest official today, officials said here.
“This is a serious incident of people killing a leopard, which is an endangered species under schedule one of the wildlife (protection) Act 1972,” R J Patel, district collector, told PTI tonight.
Patel said the leopard had sneaked into Tirath village and was hiding in a field behind a school but before the forest department staff could capture it, the villagers managed to corner and beat the wild cat till it died.
Earlier in the day, the leopard had attacked nine persons including a forest official, who sustained fractures when mauled by the animal. All of the injured persons are receiving treatment at a local hospital.
–Agencies