NUAPADA: Forest officials kept a watch on the village of Musurangi village, located inside Musurangi proposed Reserve Forest (RF), as the two leopards that were spotted on Wednesday have not been sighted again.
Villagers, though, are panicked as there were reports of leopards picking up a cow and a calf from the cattle shed of one Khemsingh Keut of Kukudatal village which also is located inside the Musurangi forests. Forest officials, however, denied the incident in absence of evidence.
Movement of the leopards came to light after a villager captured photographs of the animals and posted them on social media sites on Tuesday. Some villagers witnessed the movement of the leopards on Wednesday as well but there was no sight of the animals for the last two days.
Sarpanch of Amanara gram panchayat, Jagdish Sahu said inhabitants of Musurangi along with people of other villages under the gram panchayat are living in fear.
Forest Range Officer, Nuapada, Asit Kumar Dash said forest staff have been deployed in vulnerable areas and they are trying to trace the leopards. Villagers have been urged not to venture into the forest to collect firewood and work in their farmlands.