Leopard Attack in Darjeeling, West Bengal - A leopard was shot dead after it attacked and injured 11 people in West Bengal's Darjeeling district on Tuesday.The snarling adult male leopard leapt at locals and forest officials as they tried to drive it into a wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal state.
Forest official Dharma Dev Rai said villagers used knives, stones and batons to beat the big cat back.
It injured six villagers, a policeman and four forest guards before being hit with a tranquiliser gun. The leopard died within hours, and a post-mortem is being conducted.
The incident happened near Siliguri, about 600 kilometres from Kolkata on Tuesday.
leopard Attack in Darjeeling West Bengal Photos, Pics
The people are recovering from their injuries, mostly swipes from the cat's claws.
Leopards are protected in India although more are straying into villages for food.
The Times of India reported on its website that villagers needed to be made more aware of how to deal with animals that strayed out of forests. It said that, in this case, villagers had not paved a way for the leopard to return to the forest.
"We found that its four paws were injured as it had climbed on to a wall with glass shards. Afraid and desperate to return to the forest, it was attacking the bystanders," a forester told the paper.
The website added: "The forest guard further alleged that they had been forced to dart the animal due to the villagers' mounting pressure.
"If we had insisted on providing a safe passage to animals, public wrath would have fallen upon us. In such circumstances, people are in no mood to listen to us."
The website reported that leopard lynching in the tea belt of India was common.
leopard Attack in Darjeeling Video