New Delhi: Three people have been killed in separate panther attacks in Rajasthan’s Udaipur. It has triggered protests, with people blocking the state highway between Jhadol and Gogunda. The incident comes in the wake of the wolf attacks in Uttar Pradesh. Fear and panic have gripped the area as the panther remains at large, despite efforts by the forest department to capture it.
The attacks
The first attack occurred in Undithal village, Chhali Gram Panchayat, on Wednesday. A 16-year-old girl named Kamala, a class 9 student, went to the forest to graze goats but did not return by evening. Villagers began searching for her and her body was found the next day, where it was dragged about four kilometres into the forest, according to an NDTV report.
The second attack took place on Thursday in Bevadia village, about 3 kilometres from Undithal. Khemaram, a 45-year-old man, was returning home with his son when a panther attacked them. While his son managed to escape and call for help, the panther fatally bit Khemaram on the neck. Villagers who arrived at the scene saw the panther still near his body, which increased fears that the animal may be a man-eater.
They suspect it was the same panther responsible for Kamala’s death. The forest department has since set up a cage to trap the animal. The third incident occurred today in Chhali village, where a 50-year-old woman was killed by a panther. Villagers are currently trying to recover her body. All three attacks have taken place within a two-kilometre radius.
Capture efforts underway
Chief Wildlife Warden PK Upadhyay said that the forest department is dispatching a team to tranquilise the panther. He said that tracking the animal has been challenging due to the dense forest cover after the recent rains.
Experts said that human-panther conflicts are becoming more frequent as panther populations rise while forested areas continue to shrink. Panthers often wander near human settlements and they prey on domestic livestock and occasionally attacking people living near the forest edge. On September 8, a woman was attacked near Jhadol in Udaipur.