Jharkhand: Cameras fail to sight leopard which killed four children, Hyderabad hunter awaits govt order

GARHWA/RANCHI: The leopard which killed four children across different villages of Garhwa and Latehar continues to elude the local forest officials even as local residents live in a state of fear.
Over 50 trap cameras set up by the forest officials across villages and vulnerable spots in Ranka and Bhandaria blocks in Garhwa have not been able to photograph the leopard since they were set up last week.
Garhwa divisional forest officer Shashi Kumar said: "The trap cameras have not been able to capture the leopard so far. Now, we are moving the cameras to Binda village and its adjoining areas in Bhandaria block where a woman had a close shave from the leopard on Monday evening."
In the past 72 hours, the trap cameras photographed wild cats, jackals and wild boar, but not any leopard.
The woman, in her thirties, had stepped out of her home at Binda village under Bhandaria police station limits around 6:30 pm on Monday when she sighted a leopard. Armed with a torch and a stick, the woman managed to drive it away by making loud noises, forest officials said.
Four children have been killed in separate incidents of leopard attacks across Latehar and Garhwa districts since last month. Three of the killings took place in Garhwa's Bhandaria and Ramkanda blocks. Though the Jharkhand government invited Hyderabad-based hunter Shafath Ali Khan to visit the affected areas in Garhwa and Latehar and offer his advice and opinion, bureaucratic red tape continues to delay his arrival.
Speaking to TOI from Hyderabad, Khan said: "I am yet to get a written order copy from the state government inviting me and my team to visit the affected areas. Without the order copy, it will be difficult for us to move our equipment."
Khan said his modus operandi upon arrival would be to ascertain whether the killer leopard is one animal or there are several of them involved. "Leopards hunt human beings because of compelling reasons such as old age, injuries or lack of prey base. We have to study those things in detail. Our focus will be to capture the animal and elimination would be the last resort," he added.