A 22-year-old woman died after a leopard attacked her near her house in Durgam village, around 30 km from Gudiyatham town in Vellore on Wednesday.
Forest officials said that the deceased victim has been identified as S. Anjali. Her parents K. Sivalingam, 52 and S. Padma, 47 were farmers in the village that formed part of Melmoil village panchayat, which comes under K.V. Kuppam block in Vellore district. Durgam village is located on the fringes of Anoop Reserve Forest (RF) in the hillock on Tamil Nadu – Andhra Pradesh border.
The incident happened around 3 p.m. “The victim went out of her house to collect small pieces of firewood near the RF when a leopard suddenly attacked her. Efforts have been taken to trap the animal,” R. Vinoba, forest range officer (Gudiyatham) told The Hindu.
Initial inquiry revealed that Durgam village is a remote hamlet in the hillock with around 50 families, mostly farmers. Forest officials said that a few neighbours saw the animal dragging the victim into the forest when they shouted for help. As more residents rushed to the spot, the leopard left the victim and escaped into the thick forest.
Based on alert, K.V. Kuppam police and forest officials from Gudiyatham range rushed to the spot. The body has been sent to Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore town for postmortem. K.V. Kuppam police have registered a case. Vellore District Forest Officer (DFO) Guruswamy Dabbala was also apprised about the incident. The Forest Department has formed special teams to trap the animal.
Published – December 18, 2024 11:25 pm IST
