Three injured in leopard attack in Himachal's Una

Una (HP), Oct 20 (PTI) Three persons were injured after a leopard attacked them in the Haroli sub-division of Una district on Monday, officials said.

One of the victims suffered a serious eye injury, while two others escaped with minor wounds after the leopard ambushed them on a farmland adjacent to their village in the Palkwah area of the district, they said.

According to witnesses, the big cat was hiding in bushes between the fields. Some passersby, alarmed on hearing the leopard's growl, scrambled to flee towards the village when the animal pounced on them, injuring three villagers.

Following the incident, a group of villagers chased the leopard with sticks, injuring the animal. It was later spotted hiding in bushes in a nearby forest, from where forest department staff captured it in an injured condition, a local said.

Villagers claimed the leopard was often spotted around the fields, risking the safety of the residents, especially children, who frequent the area.

They also requested the forest officials to release the animal away from the village.

Panic gripped the village till the leopard was captured, with tense residents not only locking their cattle in pens, but also forcing their children to stay indoors on Diwali day.

The injured leopard would be taken to a rehabilitation centre, forest officials said. PTI COR BPL ARB ARI