Three year old killed by a maneater in Pratap Nagar block, Tehri Garhwal. Minister directs elimination of the leopard
The terror of man eater attacks have become order of the day in the Garhwal and kumaon regions of Uttarakhand with more human kills taking place than domestic animals. Just few days ago the government of Uttarakhand has enhanced the monetary compensation for every bereaved family from three to six lakh rupees in case a human being is killed by wild animals with Rs. One lakh for the seriously injured and Rs. 15000 for the simply injured. Several districts of Uttarakhand viz. Pauri, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Nainital and Almora etc have witnessed several cases of man eater kills and attacks in the past and this trend is not coming down. According to a forest department data during the past 19 years about 60 leopards and tigers were declared man eaters and were eliminated by the professional hunters hired by the government after their terror led to several human kills. Though there is no concrete statistics of human kills at the hands of wild animals especially by manager leopards and tigers but as per the news appearing in various newspapers of Uttarakhand there have been human kills and severe human injuries on every third day or minimum two incidents every week in the himalayan state. Just yesterday a three year old toddler became the brutal prey of a man eater leopard in Pratap Nagar block’s Bharpuria village in Bhaduria patti in Tehri Garhwal when he was grabbed by it and dragged hundred metres away leaving him dead after the villagers raised immense sound and voices. The three year toddler was playing in the house compound when the predator pounced upon him and dragged him hundred metres away. The panic struck villagers took the injured baby to the nearby health centre of Lambgaon where he was declared brought dead. The boy named Suraj Singh was the son of Surjan Singh Panwar. The forest minister of Uttarakhand Subodh Uniyal has given orders for killing the maneater on the demand of the angered villagers. There had been several incidents of maneater pouncing on women, children and brutally killing them dragging them away from house compounds to nearby jungles at Biriokhal block.