In the second incident of animal attack in less than a week, a 50-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district, an official said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on Tuesday, when Gajra Pancheshwar was cutting paddy with other women in a field in Ugli area of the district, said B.C. Meshram, the manager of the Seoni Forest Development Corporation.
A leopard attacked the woman and mauled her to death, he said, adding that the other women fled from the spot to save themselves.
The forest department has provided an immediate financial assistance of ₹ 10,000 to the family of the deceased, and ex-gratia of ₹ 3.9 lakh will be disbursed soon, it was stated.
Meanwhile, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) S.K.S. Tiwari said four cages have been set up in the area to trap the animal.
Earlier on October 16, a 16-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in Kanhiwada forest area near Pandiwada village.
The same leopard is involved in attacks on cattle in the villages of this area, the official said.
The authorities have written to the forest headquarters to declare this leopard a man-eater, he said.
The DFO further said that villagers have been advised to stay away from the areas where such incidents have occurred and remain alert till the predator is captured.
In a similar incident, a 50-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard near Mohgaon village under the Keolari block in Seoni district on September 15.
