MIRZA, Nov 27 - One Ranjan Kalita (23) of Pacharia village near Amingaon was seriously injured when a leopard attacked him at Molong (Pacharia village) near Molong hill in Kamrup district at around 11.30 am on Wednesday.
Ranjan was rushed to the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and he is stated to be out of danger now.
Talking to this correspondent, Ranjan said that he along with two of his friends were working in their neighbour�s home at Molong when they heard the cry of a goat and rushed towards the goat in the nearby shrubs.
�When we reached the spot, we saw the goat bleeding. But we were not aware that the goat was attacked by a leopard. As we looked for the culprit, the leopard jumped on me and caused injuries on my head and hands. The leopard fled the spot as my friends raised a hue and cry,� Ranjan, son of Krishna Kalita, said.
Ranjan claimed that 2-3 leopards have been living in the Molong hill since the past few years and that several domestic cows, goats and dogs were killed by the leopards.
Panic gripped the people of Molong-Pacharia area soon after the leopard attack. Forest Department personnel of Hajo Forest Range thereafter patrolled the leopard-depredated areas.
A team of Forest Department personnel led by Ranger Tamijuddin Ahmed and a team of �Man & Wild� rushed to the spots and took stock of the situation yesterday. The team, along Assam State Zoo personnel, installed a cage with a goat as bait to trap the leopard on the prowl. The team spotted several pugmarks of the leopard in the Molong hill.
Interacting with Ranjan and his neighbours, activists of Man & Wild exhorted the locals not to kill the leopard.
Well known tranquiliser expert Kushal Sarma told this Correspondent that there is no symptom of the leopard becoming a man-eater, hence there is no reason to panic.
