M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Dec 11: An 8 years old girl Kiran Kumari succumbed to her injuries inflicted on her by a leopard in the Chhipadohar west range of the tiger reserve Palamu. Kumar Ashish deputy director North division of the tiger reserve Palamu has confirmed the death of the girl caused by the leopard.
Ashish said the girl and her other relative were between the railway line and the village Ukamaar when around 6 in the evening of Saturday (December 10), a leopard pounced upon her and injured her severely.
The injured girl was rushed to the Medinirai medical college hospital in Daltonganj last night itself where on Sunday morning, she died during treatment.
“We were just waiting for the doctors to suggest her treatment at some higher centre in Ranchi as for which we were ready to hire an ambulance but she succumbed to the injuries during the treatment in a government hospital in Daltonganj,” said Ashish.
Meanwhile, the deputy director also informed that the pug marks of the leopard have been found. Notably, this is the first human casualty caused by a leopard in the Palamu tiger reserve.
Field director and chief conservator of the forest tiger reserve Palamu, Kumar Ashutosh said that, “instructions have been given to pay 25,000 rupees as ex-gratia relief to the bereaved family for the observance of the post-death rites.”
The Jharkhand government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the death of human beings caused by wildlife. The deceased girl belongs to Latehar and had come to Ukamaar in her relative’s house.
Her autopsy was conducted in the Medinirai medical college hospital in Daltonganj, said the acting medical superintendent Dr R K Ranjan. She had multiple injuries on her neck and a profuse loss of blood following the leopard attack on her.
