Udaipur, October 4, 2024 – In continuing incidents of leopard attack on villagers in Gogunda, last evening, a mother and her son were attacked by a leopard. Both managed to escape and the leopard also fled.

At 6:00 pm, Naresh Bharti (30) and his mother Kailash Bharti (60) were walking on the bridge between Kelwo Ka Kheda and Rathodo Ka Guda when they noticed a leopard behind them. They started shouting, the leopard fled into the undergrowth and the two managed to escape unharmed.

Angry locals gathered and pelted stones at forest department officials who had to take refuge in a government school to protect themselves. Others quickly left the area in a vehicle. On receiving the information, the Gogunda police and some villagers reached the scene and pacified the angry crowd, explaining that the officials were there to help. Gogunda SDM Naresh Soni and Deputy District Chief Pushkar Teli also arrived to calm the situation and things settled down after that.

Earlier on Wednesday at around 10:00 pm, constable Pradeep Chaudhary was attacked by a leopard. He fired at it but the animal fled into the undergrowth. The next morning, at around 11:00 am, a leopard tried to attack villager Mohanlal in Kakan Ka Guda village, under Modi Gram panchayat. The villager had a stick with which he defended himself, shouting as he swung the stick, causing the leopard to flee.

Villagers say that after the continuing attacks, they have stopped going to their fields. Now, when they go out to help government officials and shooters, they arm themselves with sticks or sickles for protection.

In Rathodo Ka Guda village, some women were seen sitting on their porches. When approached, one woman said, "When will the leopard be caught? It has become difficult to even step outside. We can't graze our cattle or send our children to school."