TNN, Jan 14, 2011, 10.43pm IST
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Six-booked-for-killing-leopard/articleshow/7287283.cms
BHUBANESWAR: A day after a mob killed a leopard on the outskirts of the city, forest officials on Friday registered cases against six persons for killing a Scheduled I' animal. They were booked under different sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Preliminary investigation revealed that six persons took part in the killing. "A detailed probe is currently on," DFO Jayant Dash said. "Cases, if necessary, will be registered against others found involved in the crime," he said.
The DFO could not, however, throw any light on the area from where the animal came and how it strayed into the riverbed, which is located not far from the village. "The male adult leopard did not enter the village. It hid in the bushes in the river bank. The animal got irritated only after some villagers shouted and threw stones at it, forcing it to run for its life. In the process, the leopard came face to face with the villagers who barred its flight and were wounded. The villagers finally overpowered it and beat it to death," the DFO said.
Dash said there had been no reports of leopard attacks in the vicinity of Bhubaneswar till date. "From the circumstances it indicates that the leopard was not a man-eater. It turned hostile only after it was disturbed by all that noise and the crowd of angry villagers," he said.
The residents of Gandarpur village, however, maintained that it was the animal that attacked villagers and that the killing was only in self-defence. "It was only after we heard the screams that we rushed to the spot. On reaching the location, I found my son and another persons, both badly wounded, trying to fight the animal in self-defence. Had we not reached there in time, the animal would have mauled them. My son, Chitrasen, was bleeding heavily," said Ganesh Padhiary. "We are not animal killers. When we heard the leopard attacking people, we rushed in to save them," he added. "Those alleging that we killed the animal on purpose are not aware of what happened on location. We had no option but to kill the animal," he added.
According to the post mortem report by the OUAT, the animal died of brain haemorrhage. "The animal suffered severe head injuries, leading to profuse bleeding from its mouth and nose. Its lungs were also damaged due to heavy blows to its rear limbs," the report stated.
