Tragic Leopard Attack: 8-Year-Old Girl Killed in Uttar Pradesh | Meerut News

BIJNOR: An eight-year-old girl was killed by a leopard when she was accompanying her mother to harvest paddy around 8.30am on Friday in Malakpur village, Nahtaur area, in UP’s Bijnor.
The leopard pounced on the girl, Tanya Kumari, in front of her mother and dragged her away. Her mother, Sunita Devi, called for help after which local residents started searching for the girl.Tanya was found unconscious in a nearby sugarcane field and was taken to Nahtaur Community Health Centre, where doctors declared her ‘brought dead’.
Bijnor sub-divisional forest officer Gyan Singh said that teams have been formed to capture the leopard, with a cage being set up and drones possibly being used in the search. He urged villagers to remain cautious when entering fields.
This marks the 26th death from big cat attacks in the region over the past 18 months. Villagers are demanding the leopard be declared a man-eater and killed, particularly after a similar fatal attack on a girl occurred just two months ago in the same area.
The forest department is yet to conduct a census to determine the number of leopards in the area, although estimates suggest that there are over 500.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident on Thursday evening, a leopard attacked a man, Sudhanshu Kumar, in Nauganva Sadat area of Amroha district, while he was returning to his home in Khedka village on his bike. He sustained injuries but was saved by a passerby. Kumar was admitted to a hospital, where his condition is reported stable.