The Jharkhand forest department has issued an order to kill the man-eater leopard ‘as a last resort’ which has spread terror in Garhwa and Latehar districts for 36 days.
The leopard has so far killed four children and has managed to dodge being caged or tranquilise it though it has killed animals set to lure it to cages.
“We had to issue the order for killing the leopard with certain conditions after all attempts to tranquilise it failed. However, the leopard can be shot dead only as a last resort if there is an immediate threat to life from the animal. The order was issued on Wednesday,” said Jharkhand principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Shashikar Samanta. Samanta, who also doubles as chairman of the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB), however said that he would be personally going to the forest.
“Leopards are very intelligent animals and have a tendency to dodge getting caged so we are not surprised. Even India’s best hunter Shafat Ali Khan from Hyderabad has been camping in Garhwa for over two weeks without any success. I plan to go to the forest and take part in the operation personally, though I am facing a paucity of time,” claimed Samanta.
Shafat Ali Khan, 64, and his son Asghar Khan who have more than four decades of tracking and eliminating wild animals when they turn dangerous for humans arrived in Garhwa South Forest Division on January 4.
Significantly Forest Conservator Garhwa South Forest division Dilip Kumar Yadav sent a letter to PCCF Wildlife seeking permission to kill the leopard on January 10.
A committee has been constituted to trap, tranquilise or shot dead the leopard with Dilip Kumar Yadav as its chairperson, divisional forest officer Shashi Kumar, deputy director of Palamu Tiger Project Mukesh Kumar, travelling veterinarian Dr Rakesh Jojo, Zilla Parishad vice-president Satyanarayan Yadav, social worker Rajesh Kumar Choubey and panchayat representative of concerned Panchayats as members.
Natives of about 100 villages of the forest division are in panic due to the terror of the leopard. The forest department has also installed 60 trap cameras in the villages known to be frequented by the leopard.
