Leopard kills pregnant woman, shot dead by hunter

In the third incident of leopard attack in past one month, a six-month pregnant woman has been killed by a leopard in Tehri district, Forest officials said on Sunday. The leopard was later shot dead by a hunter. "The leopard attacked Subodhni Devi (23) of Aali village on Saturdaywhile she was collecting grass from the forest along with some other women. The man eater, hiding in the bushes attacked her from behind," Sub-Divisional Forest officer Hemshankar Maindola said. "After fellow women cried for help, the leopard took her into the forest. A half-eaten corpse of the woman was later recovered after a search operation," he added.

Earlier, a four-year-old girl from the same village and an elder man of Kot village were killed by the animal. Taking cognisance of the turn of events, the forest department hired a shooter who shot dead the leopard late yesterday evening. The leopard was a male aged around nine years and his body has been sent for postmortem, Maindola added.