Leopard suspected to have killed Valparai girl trapped
Six-year-old victim, M Roshini Kumari, was dragged away by the leopard right in front of her mother Monica Devi, behind their house at the labour quarters in Pachamalai Estate on 20 June.
Representative Image (PTI)
COIMBATORE: A leopard suspected of having mauled a girl to death was trapped in a cage in Valparai on Thursday.
Six-year-old victim, M Roshini Kumari, was dragged away by the leopard right in front of her mother Monica Devi, behind their house at the labour quarters in Pachamalai Estate on 20 June. The girl was helping her mother in fetching water from the tap when the carnivore pounced and lifted her away into the thicket.
While the blood-stained dress worn by the girl was recovered the same night, it took an intensive search for the forest department to discover the partially consumed remains of the girl’s body around 500 metres from their house, the next day, around 11.30 am. Sniffer dog ‘Bairava’ played a pivotal role in tracing the girl’s body.
Following the incident, a cage was placed at the spot where the girl’s body was recovered on 22 June, while another cage was kept in a nearby tea estate. Camera traps were fixed, and staff maintained constant vigil.
Finally, the leopard was found trapped in one of the cages on Thursday, around 5.40 am. The cage of the trapped animal has been taken to the forest area in Top Slip. “The DNA collected from the leopard involved in the attack will be matched with the trapped leopard to ascertain if it was the same animal that mauled the girl to death. The captured animal will be released into the forest area in ATR,” said an official.
