Another villager falls prey to leopard

In yet another incident, mutilated body of a villager was found in the forest area of Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve. The 56- year- old villager who had gone to graze his livestock in Motichur forest range near Raiwala on Sunday evening was suspected to have been mauled by a leopard. He was a resident of Prateek Nagar, Raiwala.

"The deceased has been identified as Surat Singh who, a mentally retarded person, did not do any work other than raising his livestock. On Tuesday morning around 8.00 am, we got the information through one Anup Kumar that a person's body was lying in the jungle about 300 metres inside from the main road. Our team rushed to the spot," said range officer Motichur Vikas Rawat.

SI Raiwala Vinod Kumar said, 'We have identified the body of the victim. He is resident of Murgi farm Raiwala. He is suspected to have been killed by a leopard. The body has been sent for post- mortem." The patrolling of forest guards has been intensified in the area following the incident, said the forest officials.The incident has again brought to the fore the man-animal conflict resulting in unabated death of persons who are going deep into the forest. "Despite several villagers being mauled to death  by the man-eaters in the recent time, the forest officials are yet to trap the felines," said the former wild life warden Rajiv Mehta. Leopard entering the residential areas located near the park boundaries are also common, he added.