‘Man-eater’ leopard still out of sight, villagers fear safety in Sumbal
KASHMIR NEWS TRUST #KNT
Even after a week when a man-eater leopard mauled a kid to death, authorities in Sumbal Sonawari area of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district have failed to trap the said wild beast, much to the concern of the locals.
On 28 August last month a leopard in the Nesbal area of Sumbal dragged a 7-year-old kid identified as Zaid Bashir to a nearby hillock and the next morning locals found his dead body.
After the incident, the Wild Life team arrived in the area to catch the said leopard, however, even after over a week there is no trace of the said leopard.
“After the unfortunate incident, a couple of cages were installed by the Wild Life team, but there are no employees present in the area,” a local Aijaz Ahmed told news agency Kashmir News Trust adding that District administration Bandipora has already permitted wildlife teams to trap or neutralize the wild beast.
Another local Rayees Ahmed said that the wildlife team should take the help of local hunters but it seems authorities are not serious about the issue and probably waiting for another mishap to happen.
He said locals are scared and don’t allow kids to venture out from their homes after the sunset. “The fear psychosis has hit the religious and mundane education of kids as they have stopped to attend ‘darsgahs’ and private tuition centres.
When contacted, an official said that efforts are on to track down the ‘man-eater’ leopard. He said wildlife teams have been deployed in the area. [KNT]
