Jharkhand's man-eater leopard traceless, might have moved into Chhatisgarh

The man-eater leopard for whom a hunt had been launched on the orders of the Jharkhand government has gone traceless for more than a week and celebrated hunter Nawab Safath Ali Khan feels it might have moved into Chattisgarh.

The government order to kill the animal, which reportedly killed four children in Palamu division of the state in a span of 18 days, has expired and the expert team of Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve (SDTR) of Madhya Pradesh, which came to help Jharkhand forest department to tackle the animal, has returned, an official said on Wednesday.

“We will urge for extension of the order to kill the animal in case we find any activity by it,” the regional chief conservator of forest (RCCF) Kumar Ashutosh told PTI. Jharkhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Sasikar Samanta had on January 18 issued an order stating that if the situation arose in which the leopard posed a threat to either a shooter employed by the department or someone else, it may be killed or wounded.

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The notice lapsed on January 31. Khan, who camped in Garhwa district in the state since January 5, left for Bangalore on January 30. Speaking to PTI over phone, Khan said, “No trace of the animal was found after January 22. Based on its pug marks, it appears that the animal has gone to Chhattisgarh.” The Hyderabad-based hunter said he is in Bangalore for a personal reason.

“I will visit Jharkhand again if I get any fresh order from the state government. The conditional order to kill the animal has expired on January 31”. He said the villagers of Ramkanda, Ranka and Bhandariya blocks in Jharkhand are living in panic of leopard attacks and have been asked not to venture out of their homes after dark.

Ashutosh said that neither any activity of the leopard nor its pugmark was sighted in Garhwa, Latehar and Palamu for more than a week. “The SDTR team has returned. We will call the team again if it is required,” he said.

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The leopard has spread terror in more than 50 villages in three blocks — Ramkanda, Ranka and Bhandariya of Garhwa district. It allegedly killed three children in the area and one in Latehar between December 10 and 28 last year. The children were between six and 12 years of age.

The animal had reportedly killed its first victim - a 12-year-old girl on December 10 in Barwadih block of Latehar district. Its last alleged prey was a 12-year-old boy in Kushwaha village of the same district on December 28.