Shoot-at-sight order for leopard in Mysuru

A shoot-at-sight order was issued for a leopard which killed a 22-year-old woman in S Kebbehundi village of T Narsipur taluk in Mysuru. Announcing the operation on Friday, Conservator of Forests M Malathi Priya said 15 teams have been formed to locate the animal within seven days.

Meghana, a college student, was attacked on Thursday evening when she was in her backyard.

Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Kamala said 10 camera traps and 15 cages were installed after frequent sighting of leopards by villagers.

Combing operations were intensified after a youth, Manjunath, was killed by a leopard a month ago near Ukkalagere, 12 km from S Kebbehundi. Now, five additional cages have been placed, including one near Meghana’s house, as officials believe the big cat might come back. Drones are also being used to trace the leopard.

“The distance between Ukkalagere, where Manjunath was attacked, and S Kebbehundi, where Meghana was attacked, is just 12 km. A leopard travels 10 km to 15 km easily, so the same animal could be behind both the attacks. Besides, pug marks spotted around both the areas appear to be similar — of a male adult leopard aged six to seven years,” DCF Kamala said.

She said they have the footage of an animal captured in a camera trap near Ukkalagere. But it could be another one also, as leopards from nearby forest areas are sighted frequently in T Narsipur.

“At least five leopards have been rescued since April this year. So, shoot-at-sight will be enforced only if similarities are found, and not against any leopard cubs,” Kamala informed.

T Narsipur MLA Ashwin Kumar held a meeting with officers on Friday and asked them to ensure that villagers inform authorities whenever they see a leopard. “The officers must inform this to jurisdictional RFOs. Officers should ensure that villagers do not go out to farmlands during night. I will ensure that there is adequate electricity supply for irrigation during the daytime,” he said. Meanwhile, Meghana’s body was handed over to her parents Rajamani and Ramesh Naik after postmortem on Friday. Meghana was one of the three daughters of the couple. A compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh was announced for the family.