COIMBATORE: A four-year-old girl standing near her mother was attacked by a leopard and dragged into the forest at Valparai in Coimbatore on Friday.
Forest, police and fire and rescue services personnel have launched a search operation to locate the girl inside the reserve forest area. Officials said the child’s condition is yet to be ascertained as efforts to trace her have not been successful till 9.30 pm on Friday.
The girl, Roshini Kumari, is the daughter of Manoj Munda and Monica Devi of Jharkhand. The couple has two children and Roshini Kumari is the elder daughter. The couple came to Valparai along with their children last year and have been working as estate workers at Pachamalai South in Valparai Hill in Coimbatore district.
According to forest officials, Roshini was standing in front of her home when a leopard came out of the forest around 6pm, attacked her, and dragged her into the forest in front of her mother’s eyes. On hearing Monica Devi’s cry for help, other workers in the estate rushed to the spot and launched a search.
After being alerted, forest department personnel headed by Valparai forest ranger Suresh Krishnan, too, joined the search operation. Speaking to TNIE at 9.30 pm, Suresh Krishnan said, “There is no trace of the girl yet. The search is still on.”
It’s the second such incident in recent times in Valparai after a four-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in front of her mother at Oosimalai Estate in Valparai Hill on October 19, 2024.
The girl, Absara Khatoon (4), daughter of Anil Ansari of Jharkhand, went to take bath in a stream along with her parents when a leopard jumped out of the forest cover and caught hold of Absara and attempted to drag her into the forest. Though onlookers managed to rescue the child from the clutches of the big cat, she died on the spot.