india

Updated: May 20, 2019 23:37 IST

A sub-adult leopard was beaten to death by villagers in Malhargarh tehsil of Mandsaur district on Monday after it attacked two villagers, a senior forest department official said.

“Unfortunately it was stoned and beaten to death by the angry villagers. By the time the forest team reached there, it was half dead and it died while it was being taken to Mandsaur for treatment,” Prakasham, principal chief conservator of forests, said.

Local villagers said that initially, an elderly woman who had gone to her field was attacked by the sub-adult leopard and her mother around 9 am.

She shouted for help and the mother and her cub hid in the fields even as villagers surrounded the area looking for the animals.

The search continued for the next few hours and the big cats were finally spotted around 11.30 am. When the villagers chased them, the mother and her cub got separated. While the adult one managed to escape, her cub climbed a tree and the villagers surrounded it. Then, it jumped on one of the villagers and injured him. Those present on the spot caught it and beat the animal to death.

The villagers alleged that they had informed the forest department after they spotted the leopard but the latter apparently dismissed it by saying that it must be a hyena.

It was only when the leopard was up on the tree that a forest department team rushed to the spot, but by then it was too late for the sub-adult leopard.

Malhargarh is located near a dense forest, which has been identified as a leopard habitat, according to forest officials.

(With inputs from Rohit Soni from Mandsaur)