Leopard killed in Jorhat for mauling two

JORHAT: An adult female leopard was beaten to death in a retaliatory act by villagers at Elengi Kharkhowagaon in Titabor sub-division of Jorhat district on Thursday night. The leopard had attacked the villagers earlier, leaving two of them critically injured.

The injured are now undergoing treatment at Jorhat Medical College Hospital. They were identified as Nafu Kurmi and Diganta Gogoi.

Forest beat officer (Titabor) Lakhinath Boruah said, "We found the carcass of an adult female leopard at Elengi Kharkhowagaon on Thursday night. The animal was about seven years old and it had sustained grievous injuries."

He added, "The big cat had earlier attacked two persons in the village and injured them, creating a panic situation in the area. The locals then came out in large numbers with sharp weapons to kill the animal. They attacked the leopard and beat it to death on the spot. The big cat lost its legs and was even beheaded."

He added that forest officials rushed to the spot on receiving the information, but it was too late. The animal was dead by the time they reached the spot. Boruah added that an investigation has been launched to nail the guilty persons, but the main culprits are yet to be identified.

On April 10, a woman names Komoli Gowala was killed in a leopard attack in Titabor area. Komoli was a tea worker and she was attacked by the big cat while working in the garden. Later, forest staffs trapped the 12-year-old female leopard in a cage and it was shifted to Kaziranga National Park.