ANGUL: A day after 28 goats were found mysteriously dead in a forest near Kutunga village under Athmallik block, panic gripped locals who suspect a leopard is on the prowl and could possibly be behind the killings.
On Friday, one of the villagers had gone to the nearby Hatidhara reserve forest to graze his goats.
He returned to the village for some work. To his shock, when he went back to the forest, he found all his goats dead.
After he raised an alarm, locals rushed to the spot and the Forest department was intimated. No injury marks were found on the goats though.
Meanwhile, panic-stricken villagers preferred to stay indoors as some of them had spotted a leopard a few days back and even informed the Forest department.
Athmallik DFO S Anand, however, ruled out the role of a tiger in the killings. ”We suspect involvement of a leopard but not that of a tiger. It could be any other wild animal too. The goats were grazing in a prohibited zone. We are investigating into the matter,” he said.
Freedom fighter passes away
Noted freedom fighter Debananda Gupta of Mura Kalmi village under Maneswar block in the district passed away on Saturday afternoon. He was 95. He breathed his last while undergoing treatment at VIMSAR, Burla.
Born in 1926 at Tilia Phatapali, Gupta had joined the freedom movement at the age of 16. He was arrested in 1942 during the Quit India Movement and jailed for one year. He was felicitated by the President of India in New Delhi on Kranti Divas in 2018 and again in 2020.