Leopard which attacked six-year-old, captured in southern India
by Surya PrakashA leopard that had mauled a six-year-old girl to death, has been captured in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh.
This happened in Tirumala, Tirupati district of the state on August 14.
Visuals showed the leopard trapped inside the cage. It growled a bit before giving up and lying down inside. The cage was then put on the back of a vehicle which would take it away from the area where it was caught. A huge group of people had gathered at the spot. According to a report, the leopard mauled young Lakshita, whose body was found at the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. Lakshita was with her parents–Dinesh and Sasikala climbing the Alipiri footway in Tirumala when she had reportedly gone to fetch a packet of biscuits. Dinesh later shared that there was a big crowd in the area and he assumed she had gone ahead. Later, her body was found near the temple.
A post-mortem revealed that she died after being mauled by a leopard which ate parts of her body before it returned to the forest. The leopard, which is three-four years old, is a female one and she would now be sent for examination at the SV Zoological Park where it would be determined if she killed the child. Later, officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) will take a call on the animal’s release.
The TTD and forest officials were on alert after this incident happened with security on the footpath route to the Tirumala temple being reportedly increased. The officials carefully monitored the leopard’s movements before setting up a trap to capture her. The TTD and government of Andhra Pradesh announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs (USD 12,052.91) for the girl’s family.
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