Two killed in wildlife attacks near Lansdowne

Pauri: Tragedy struck the Lansdowne area of Pauri district over the past 24 hours as two people, including a toddler, lost their lives in separate wildlife attacks, officials said.

In the first incident on Saturday, a leopard attacked a family in Barswar village of Jaiharikhal. A one-and-a-half-year-old girl, Yashika, was snatched from her mother’s arms while they were in the courtyard of their home. According to officials, the leopard suddenly appeared, grabbed the child and ran off before anyone could react.

The child’s mother later said everything happened within seconds and she could not comprehend what was going on. Hearing her screams, family members and villagers rushed to help. They found the little girl lying critically injured in bushes about 20 metres away from the house. She was immediately taken to the Lansdowne hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Lansdowne sub-divisional magistrate Shalini Maurya visited the hospital and said that a Forest Department team has been deployed in the area to monitor the situation and prevent further incidents.

In another incident on Sunday afternoon, a 70-year-old man was killed in an elephant attack. The victim, identified as Brijmohan Singh, had gone to collect dry wood with a few others in the forest area under the Sukhro beat of the Kotdwar range.

Officials said that around 1 pm, a wild elephant suddenly appeared. As the group tried to run to safety, Singh fell to the ground. The elephant trampled him before others could intervene. He died on the spot.

(with inputs from agencies)