The leopard was declared man-eater on September 25. (Representational image)

A man-eater leopard was shot dead early today by a forest department hunter at Chandak village in Pithoragarh, a district forest officer said.

"The leopard which had killed a woman in Papdeo village in the district on September 3 and injured several others over the past few weeks was killed by hunter Joy Hukil at Chandak village when it appeared near a raised platform at 3 am," DFO Pithoragarh Vinay Bhargav said.

The leopard was declared man-eater on September 25 and a team of forest department hunters led by Hukil deputed to eliminate it, the DFO said.

Villagers of the area have had a sigh of relief with the elimination of the big cat, he said.