A leopard was caged at Dikom tea estate in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district on Wednesday night, the fourth to be captured in less then a month.

Sources said there could be more leopards in and around the estate.

“Our women are afraid to go out to the tea garden to work because of the presence of leopards in the area. We have complained about the presence of a large number of leopards in and around the tea estate,” a worker said.

Man-animal conflict has been rising at an alarming rate in Assam and other parts of the country because of the shrinking forest covers. The leopards are making forays into the garden for food.

“Around 7am, the residents of Dikom estate informed us that a leopard has been caged. We sent a team to rescue the animal. The team reached the spot and after examining the leopard, they released it at Dehing Patkai reserve forest,” Dibrugarh forest ranger Nareswar Das said.

“In less than one month we have caged four leopards in the same area and successfully released the animals at Dehing Patkai reserve forest.”

The leopards can be easily spotted as the animals usually rest on trees during the day.

In another incident, four persons were injured after a full-grown leopard attacked them at Sasoni in Naharkatia in Dibrugarh district on Wednesday night. Two of them bore severe injuries and were taken to Assam Medical College and Hospital for treatment. The injured were identified as Numol Dutta, Ranjan Mantri, Tankeswar Saikia and Motilal Mura.