VELLORE: A leopard killed a 22-year-old woman in a village bordering a forest region in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
The woman, identified as S Anjali, was standing in front of her house in Melmaruchi Duruvam village when a leopard from the bordering forest region mauled her and dragged her into the forest.
Anjali screamed for help. The villagers on noticing the leopard attacking the woman made loud noises and tried to scare the animal. The predator abandoned the woman and escaped into the forest. Anjali sustained severe deep bite injuries all over her body and died on the spot.
On being alerted, a team comprising officials from revenue, forest and police departments, led by the district collector V R Subbulaxmi and superintendent of police N Mathivanan, visited the village and made preliminary inquiries.
They told the villagers not to panic and promised to capture the leopard by setting up cages in the village. Incidents of wild animals straying into the villages near the forest have been reported frequently.
“It was a tragic incident. We met the family members of the woman who was killed by the leopard and consoled them. The villagers need not panic. The forest officials will set up cages to capture the leopard,” said Subbulaxmi.
