Expert shooter from Hyderabad roped in as search for man-eater leopard in Udaipur continues

Jaipur: An expert shooter from Hyderabad has been roped in to kill a man-eater leopard in Rajasthan's Udaipur district as several teams involving the army, police and forest department personnel fanned out in the forests looking for the animal.

The leopard, which has reportedly killed seven people, has not been traced so far.

Alarmed over the rising number of deaths, forest authorities issued an order on Tuesday to shoot down the leopard. The order came after a 55-year-old woman, Kamla Kanwar, was mauled to death on Tuesday morning outside her house in Suawaton ka Gudha when she was feeding fodder to livestock.

The permission was granted under conditions that an attempt should be made to tranquilise or trap the leopard. However, in case the animal cannot be tranquilised or trapped, its correct identification should be ensured before killing the animal.

Deputy Conservator of Forest (Udaipur North) Ajay Chittora said the department has sought the service of Nawab Shafat Ali Khan, a shooter from Hyderabad who is an expert in eliminating wild animals.

Several teams, with shooters, are searching for the leopard with the help of the locals and cages have been set up in various locations.

All teams are making coordinated efforts to spot the leopard, Chittora, said.

Following the order to shoot the leopard issued by Principal Chief Wildlife Warden and Chief Wildlife Warden Pavan Kumar Upadhyay, teams of the forest department along with the police and army surrounded the area where the leopard was seen moving around.

A police official said the search operation is continuing in Gogunda and nearby areas, adding the locals have been asked to stay in their homes and remain alert.

Concerned over the leopard attack and growing resentment among the locals, the forest authorities placed cages, installed camera traps and sought help from the Indian Army to track the leopard last month. As a result, three leopards were captured from different places.

In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich, people have been grappling with wolf terror with incidents of attack on humans seeing a spike from July 17 during the rainy season. Till September 2, eight people, including seven children, have died in these attacks while about 36, including women, children and elderly, have been injured.