The man-animal conflict seems to be increasing by the day in Uttar Pradesh. Two incidents of wild animal attack were reported in the state when a girl was killed by a leopard in Lakhimpur Kheri and a tiger attacked a family riding a motorcycle in Bahriach.
A report from Lakhimpur Kheri said that an 8-year-old girl was killed in a leopard attack in Khambhar Kheda village under the South Kheri Forest Division’s Shardanagar range, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The girl, identified as Anaya, daughter of Guddu Khan, was playing outside her house around 7 PM on Tuesday when a leopard suddenly emerged from a nearby sugarcane field and grabbed her by the neck. Hearing her screams, family members and villagers rushed out with sticks and began chasing the animal while raising an alarm.
The leopard carried the girl nearly one km into the sugarcane fields before dropping her and fleeing towards the forest as the crowd approached. The villagers found the girl in a blood-soaked state with deep claw marks on her face and body.
Police themselves took the critically injured child to the district hospital on a motorcycle, where doctors declared her dead on arrival. The body has been sent for a post-mortem.
Forest Ranger Abhay Kumar Mall confirmed the incident and said that a combing operation is underway to locate the leopard.
Meanwhile, another report from Bahriach said a tiger attacked a family riding a motorcycle on the Bichhiya-Girijapuri road in Katarniaghat on Wednesday morning. A girl, her grandmother, and a bank employee were seriously injured in the attack. All were rushed to a health centre.
Ghulam Hafiz, a resident of Bardiya village, was taking his mother, Safikun (60), and niece, Khatija (10), to a private doctor in Chafaria on his motorcycle at around 9 a.m. Wednesday. Around 500 meters from Bichhiya, a tiger suddenly emerged from the forest, landed on the road, and pounced on the moving vehicle.
The tiger attacked Safikun and Khatija. The young man immediately stopped his bike and started shouting, prompting other passersby for help. Seeing the crowd, the tiger abandoned the two and headed into the forest, but both were seriously injured in the attack. The woman and child suffered deep wounds to their heads and legs. Both received first aid at the Sujauli Public Health Center (PHC) and, later, were referred to Mihipurwa CHC due to their critical condition.
In another incident, at a distance of 50 meters from the spot, SBI bank employee Ramu (55), who was also traveling to Bichhiya, was attacked by the tiger.
Ranger Ashish Gond, along with his team, has arrived at the scene and begun patrolling. For security, elephants Jayamala and Champakali have been deployed for patrolling. The Forest Department has appealed to passersby to remain vigilant.