DEHRADUN: A leopard was shot down in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand in early hours of Saturday. The leopard had killed a woman on September 3, 2019, in Papdeo village of the district after which protests broke out against state forest department.
Following public outrage, the department granted permission to put the big cat down and hired a professional. Huckil Joy, a hunter who has the track record of eliminating 37 leopards till date, was roped in for the job.
The hunter set a perimeter in suspected areas of the animal's movement at raised platforms. At around 3am on Saturday morning, the animal walked into the perimeter taking a goat as bait.
In October, 2018, a male leopard was put down by Lakhpat Singh Rawat, famed shooter in Bageshwar. The state forest department had declared the big cat man-eater after a 4-year-old was snatched away and left half-eaten in nearby forest.
In September 2018, a four-year-old girl child was snatched away by a leopard on Sailakhniyaari village of Garud area, Bageshwar district.
The big cat barged into the house of the family and dragged the child away. The body of the child was found after search operation over two hours. Later, the big cat was put down by the state forest department.