A three-year-old boy was mauled to the death by a leopard near Somlapur village of Kampli taluk in the district on Tuesday night. The body was found in a bush near his house.
The victim has been identified as Venkatesh, son of Raghavendra, and the great-grandson of the late Nadoja Daroji Eeramma, a well-known Burrakatha folk artiste. The boy, according to his family, had gone to relieve himself when the leopard, which had strayed into the village, pounced on him.
Meanwhile, villagers staged a dharna with the victim’s body to protest against, what they termed, the failure to take steps to prevent attack by leopards and bears.
They withdrew the protest after Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Assistant Commissioner Lokesh, and Kampli tahsildar Renuka pacified them. Mr. Ramesh Kumar told The Hindu that patrolling had been intensified. The department also gave a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the victim’s family on Wednesday.
In Sandur taluk, four persons have been killed by leopards in the last two years.
