Woman killed in leopard attack, bear injures another in Uttarakhand

Nainital/Rudraprayag, Dec 26 (PTI) A woman was killed in a leopard attack in Nainital district of Uttarakhand on Friday, while in another incident in Rudraprayag district, a bear severely injured a woman.

In Nainital district, the incident occurred in ​​Dini Talli Gram Panchayat in the morning when Hema Devi, 35, left her home for the forest to collect fodder for her cattle. A leopard, which was lying in ambush nearby, attacked her, officials said.

Villagers said that Devi had spotted the leopard earlier and started shouting and throwing stones at it, but the leopard still managed to grab her and drag her into the forest.

They said that the woman's brother-in-law also raised an alarm and attacked the leopard with stones to save her, but the animal quickly dragged her away into the forest.

Upon receiving information about the incident, other members of the woman's family also reached the spot and, along with the villagers, searched the forest, after which her body was recovered.

Nathuawakhan Forest Range Officer Vijay Bhatt said upon receiving the information, a team of forest personnel was dispatched immediately to the spot.

In another incident, a woman was injured after a bear attacked her in the Ukhimath area of ​​Rudraprayag district.

On Thursday, Rachna Devi, 32, had gone to collect grass with two other women about 200 meters from her house when a bear suddenly attacked them, officials said.

However, the bear ran away after the other women raised an alarm, but Devi was severely injured in the attack.

Hearing the women's screams, people from the surrounding area reached the spot and rushed Devi to a government hospital, from where she was taken to a higher health centre, they said.

Upon receiving information about the bear attack, a forest department team also arrived at the spot, officials said.

After learning about the incident, BJP MLA Asha Nautiyal from Kedarnath also visited the hospital to see the injured.

Nautiyal also instructed forest department officials to set up cages in the affected area to catch the bear. PTI DPT SHS