Bengaluru, May 9: A three-year-old boy was killed by a leopard in the early hours of Saturday in Magadi taluk near Bengaluru.
According to police, the boy identified as C Hemanth, was sleeping with his parents - Chandrasekhar and Mangalagowramma - outside his grandfather Chikkanna's residence at Kadaraiana Palya.
The couple, residents of Dodderi, near Big Banyan Tree (Dodda Alada Mara), had been staying at Chikkanna's [Mangalagowramma's father] residence since past a few days following the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic in Bengaluru.
Some of the family members, with the child, had slept outside the residence on Friday as the temperature was high. The feline might have taken the child between 1.30 a.m. and 4 a.m., and killed it on the outskirts of the village, said the sources.
After a frantic search, family members and villagers found the mutilated body of the child in the early hours. The leopard had left the partially devoured body on the outskirts of the village, added the sources.
According to the villagers, many felines have been prowling in the area, probably arriving from forests around Magadi and attached areas, for the last several weeks.
The Forest Department officials said that they have launched an exercise to trap the animal by placing cages with live baits.
According to preliminary investigations, the child was killed by a leopard. Pugmarks were found near the body. A detailed investigation and post-mortem report will find the exact cause for the death.
The incident has sent shockwaves in the vicinity of the village. According to the sources, people are planning to launch a protest to condemn the killing of the boy.
Minister for Forest and Environment B.S. Anand Singh has announced a compensation of ₹7.5 lakh to the family of the victim.
Accompanied by Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha member D.K. Suresh, Magadi legislator Manjunath and senior officials, Mr. Singh visited the place on Saturday morning.
Addressing media persons, he said that the department has decided to start combing operations for the leopard.
Mr. Suresh said the leopard might have come from Thippagondanahalli reservoir's catchment area on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The leopard has already tasted the blood of the child and hence the department should initiate immediate action [as the chances of the feline becoming a man-eater is high, Mr. Suresh added.
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Mr. Anant K. Hegde is criminal and communal minded person, who can't tolerate the coexistence of people of different religions and castes in Kannada Nadu. Whatever the "guilty feeling" he has in his mind due to his own communal mind, he expressed it on Siddaramaih. He was already awarded with Ministerial Berth for his anti-Islam & anti-Muslim rhetoric and now he is using his "communal card" to divide the people. He may be promised to be conferred with "CM" post for this.
This is what he is now being trained by his "Saffron".
Mr. Hegde's statement is absolutely incorrect. Mr. Hegde is communal minded, so he likes communization in the country particularly in Karnataka and Mr. Siddaramiay likes peace and all religions are same there is no discrimination.
This speech should not be surprising for us. Whenever BJP feels they are in danger of loosing election or peopels support they start to take support of pakistan name. Now every indian knows BJP is the only benificiary of taking name of pakistan may be for that purpuse our prime minister went there and hugged him for supporoting him. BJP politics has gone too much cheap. GOd save our country.
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