Amroha, Hapur & Bagpat: Leopard sightings fan fear in villages of region, folk demand action
A man and his grandson were attacked and injured by a leopard in Tajpur village of Dhanaura area in district Amroha last week.
The terror of leopards is now being felt in Amroha, Hapur and Bagpat districts, after terrorising people in Bijnor district.
Villagers have reported the movement of leopards in Tajpur, Naugaon Sadat and Hirakheri villages in Amroha district. Leopards have also been sighted in Idreeshpur and Binauli villages of district Bagpat and in Badarkha village of district Hapur.
A man and his grandson were attacked and injured by a leopard in Tajpur village of Dhanaura area in district Amroha last week. They were taken to hospital for treatment and angry villagers demanded caging the leopard immediately.
Forest officials placed a cage with bait to attract the animal, but their efforts were in vain. Meanwhile, villagers informed forest officials about the presence of the animal in the jungle of village Hirakheri and the cage was shifted there but the leopard didn’t show up.
Ramesh Chandra, conservator of forests in the Moradabad division, said that efforts were being made to catch the animal. He said that presence of the animal in Naugaon Sadat and nearby areas was also reported earlier, and officials have been put on an alert to catch the animal.
Angry villagers had killed a leopard in Naugaon Sadat area a few months back and now the sighting of another leopard has panicked them especially after incidents in neighbouring Bijnor district, where a leopard had killed 13 persons in the past eight months.
In Idreeshpur and Binauli villages of district Bagpat and near village Nadarkha of Hapur district, villagers claimed seeing a leopard.
Farmers say that they are scared of going to the fields to work. Forest officials in these districts have asked people not to go alone to their farms and use a torch while going to the field at night.
They have been directed to carry a wooden staff and go in groups to the field and inform forest officials if the animal is sighted.
Chandra admitted that leopards are on the move in the region as they find a sugarcane crop a good hideout for them. In a bid to secure their space, they attack people.
