Leopard shot after mauling 13 people in India

Army personnel shot dead a leopard after a day-long drama that saw the animal injuring 13 people inside the Oil India Limited (OIL) field headquarters campus at Duliajan in the Dibrugarh district.

Forest officials said army personnel had to open fire on the leopard after he managed to get into the campus, to save the people who had gathered to take a look at the animal.

The official said the leopard was tranquillised once but the drug did not take effect and the animal attacked several people, forcing troops to shoot it.

An OIL official said the full-grown male leopard was spotted on the campus early in the morning.

The animal attacked an OIL security guard when he came face to face with it. His colleague was also attacked.

As the news spread, hundreds gathered in the area making it difficult for the forest officials to chase away the leopard.

“Despite our requests the people did not leave thus making the job more difficult,” the official said.

A forest officer who attended the scene, along with a team of vets from the Wildlife Trust of India, said: “By the time we got there, the leopard had attacked five people.

“We tried to tranquillise the leopard, but it got agitated — which is normal before sedatives takes effect — and pounced on the large crowd gathered at the spot. The security personnel were left with no option but to shoot it.”

A forest official said leopards were often spotted on the campus because of its proximity to a reserve forest.