Will take action based on autopsy report: Officials
The Uttarakhand forest department on Thursday said that they will catch the leopard if rabies is found to be the cause of death in the autopsy report of a 42-year-old man who was injured in a leopard attack and died on Tuesday, officials familiar with the matter said.
“A man who was injured in a leopard attack died on Tuesday. Doctors suggest that he had developed rabies symptoms. He might have received rabies due to the leopard attack. If the postmortem report suggests that rabies was the cause of his death, then permission will be sought from higher authorities to trap the problematic leopard,” said Mahesh Chandra Joshi, ranger, Khatima forest range under Terai East Forest Division in Kumaon on Wednesday.
Three people were injured by a leopard while they were sleeping in Ghosi Kumaon Buhari village of Khatima after attending a wedding function on January 13. They were rushed to the government hospital in Khatima.
Two of them were discharged after providing first aid while the third one, Dinesh Rana, who sustained severe injuries, was admitted to the hospital for treatment and was discharged later. Rana’s relatives brought him to the hospital after he developed some serious health complications on Sunday. Doctors checked him and found rabies symptoms in him. On seeing his condition, they referred him to the higher centre for further treatment. Relatives alleged that the rabies had spread in him due to the leopard’s attack as he had injured his face.
A relative on condition of anonymity said, “Before the leopard’s attack Dinesh was healthy and had no health issues. He developed rabies symptoms only after the attack.”
“It is not surprising that rabies is also found in leopards as they kill dogs to devour them. The problematic leopard might have received rabies from an infected dog. He may spread rabies to other animals, particularly leopards. To avoid untoward conditions, it is necessary to trap him. But all this process will depend on the post-mortem report,” said Joshi.
The deceased’s post-mortem was conducted on Wednesday in Khatima and the report will come in 2-3 days, said an official.
On February 3, an 11-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack in Gwad village under Gram Panchayat of Khirsu in Pauri district when he was playing marbles and went to fetch one of the lost marbles some distance from his home.
Earlier on December 26, a leopard killed a four-year-old boy in Singli village near Abhimanyu Cricket Academy under the Rajpur area in Dehradun.