Gujarat: Farmer kills leopard with sickle, spear as big cat attacks him and his son

Veraval (Gujarat), Jan 29 (PTI) A 60-year-old farmer killed a leopard with a sickle and a spear to save himself and his son after the wild animal attacked them in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district, officials said on Thursday.

While the farmer, Babu Vaja, and his son were hospitalised following the attack, forest officials have registered a case against the man for killing the big cat.

The deadly encounter took place on Wednesday night when Vaja was resting on the verandah of his house situated on the outskirts of Gangda village, nearly 100 km from Veraval, the district headquarters.

A leopard emerged from the nearby fields and jumped on Vaja without any provocation, said Range Forest Officer L B Bharwad.

According to Vaja, the big cat grabbed his arm and started pulling him.

“Upon hearing my cries, my son Shardul rushed to save me. However, the leopard pounced on him and injured him. When I tried to save Shardul, the leopard jumped on me again. During those few minutes, it attacked us several times,” Vaja told reporters at a hospital in Una town.

The two have suffered injuries to the forearms and forehead, said officials.

The senior citizen said he grabbed a sickle and a spear kept in the verandah and managed to kill the wild animal.

After learning about the incident, Bharwad and his team reached the spot and sent the carcass for post-mortem.

“We have also recovered weapons used by Vaja to kill the animal. We have registered a case against Vaja for killing the leopard and launched a probe,” said Bharwad. PTI COR PJT PD NR