Leopard drags 7yo girl from home in Kheri; body lifted after 18-hour protest

Pilibhit: A seven-year-old girl was killed after being dragged by a leopard from her home in Lakhimpur Kheri district, triggering an 18-hour-long protest by her family and local farmers, who refused to allow the body to be moved until their demands for compensation, fencing along the forest-village boundary and capture of the leopard were addressed. Police on Thursday eventually lifted the body and sent it for postmortem after prolonged negotiations with the protesters.The incident occurred around 7:30 pm on Wednesday at Phutha farm in Sidhauna village, under the Singhai police station limits, about 4 km from the North Nighasan forest range. Residents said the area has seen frequent leopard sightings in recent months.According to the girl's father, Joga Singh, the leopard entered the farmhouse and attacked his daughter, Pramajeet Kaur, grabbing her by the neck before dragging her nearly 200 metres into an adjoining agricultural field. Family members raised an alarm and chased the animal, forcing it to abandon the child. However, by the time they reached her, she had succumbed to her injuries.The incident triggered anger among villagers, who gathered at the spot and began protesting, alleging negligence by the forest department. Singh claimed that despite being informed promptly, the forest team reached the spot more than three hours later. He also alleged that authorities had failed to act despite frequent leopard movement in nearby fields over the past several months, putting lives at risk.Senior officials, including divisional forest officer (North Kheri), reached the village with police and forest personnel to pacify the protesters and hold discussions with residents.Forest range officer Bhupendra Kumar Singh said, "The protesters demanded Rs 21 lakh compensation, installation of fencing along the forest-village boundary and immediate capture of the leopard. They also sought permission to hunt stray leopards and tigers, which is illegal. After prolonged discussions, the protesters agreed to allow the postmortem and accept Rs 5 lakh compensation as per norms."He added that four teams have been deployed to monitor leopard movement round the clock. "Five cages with live bait and eight camera traps have been installed to identify and capture the animal. A proposal for fencing vulnerable forest stretches will be sent to the state govt," the officer said.