Leopards spotted in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur, residents in panic

Hamirpur: Leopards have been spotted in residential parts of Sujanpur area here, triggering panic among villagers who are scared to venture out in the evening fearing an attack.

Some of these sightings have been captured on videos recorded by villagers and some have been seen on CCTV footage.

The forest department has ordered the installation of cages in these areas to protect people from attacks, SDM Rakesh Sharma said.

Leopards were spotted in Tira panchayat, Dera and Dhamdiyana areas of the Sujanpur Tira revenue sub division, villagers said.

“I saw three leopards during the morning hours adjacent to Mehli Khad (nallah) two days back and made a video on my mobile,” said Vijay Kumar, a resident of Tira. He said the leopards soon disappeared into the nearby forests.

Gram Panchayat Pradhan of Tira, Vamdev, said that leopards had made goats as their prey and that the matter has been reported to the local forest staff. He demanded that a cage be installed in the village to capture the wild animal.

Two goats of another villager Sanjay Kumar were killed by the leopards on September 4, he added.

Multiple leopard sightings have also been captured by CCTV near ward number 7 and 8 of Sujanpur town.

Leopards have also been seen in Karot village and according to the villagers, residents are afraid to move out in the evenings as attacks cannot be ruled out.

SDM Rakesh Sharma said that the forest Department had been directed to install a cage in the leopard infested areas so that they do not cause any harm.

Reports of leopards have also been received from various villages of the Bhoranj revenue sub division in Hamirpur, with people living there demanding installation of cages to catch them.