January 25: At least ten families with minor children have migrated in panic from the northern villages of Bandipora to other urban parts of the Valley as the authorities have failed to trace the man-eater that has killed six children in at least 20 attacks since November 10 last year.And as if confusion about the identity of the animal was not enough, rumours that it was an operation launched by the security forces abounded. It was only on Saturday, that a woman from the Badi Behak locality , who escaped a bid on her life, identified the killer animal as a leopard.
Minister of State for Home Ali Mohammad Sagar told The Indian Express that he had personally asked the district police chief to send a special police team to flush out the wild animal. ``I had also asked the SSP to seek help of the Border Security force deployed in the area so as to get rid of the killer animal,'' said Sagar.
The man-eater first struck on November 10, 1997. Its first victim was 12-year-old Rubina from Checki
Matrigam. Fifteen days later, on November 25, 1997, it attacked and killed six-year-old Shameema Akhtar of Oonagam village. On January 13, nine-year-old Mubashir Ahmad fell prey to the leopard. Finally, the killer leopard surfaced in Mangnipora village, killing nine-year-old Afshana.
Baramullah SSP Muneer Khan when contacted said he and the district civil administration had requested the wildlife authorities to notify that the wild animal had turned man-eater, so that the animal could be destroyed. ``The wildlife authorities told us that they had toinvestigate the matter themselves before notifying the animal as a man-eater. Two-and-a-half months have passed but there has been no response from them,'' said Khan. ``Now, the district administration has announced a cash reward of Rs 5,000 for the person who kills the animal,'' the SSP added.
The Chief Wildlife Warden was not available for comment. ``The police has already engaged a professional hunter to kill the leopard besides deploying a team of 20
policemen in the affected areas,'' said Ali Mohammad Sagar.
Sources in the local police told The Indian Express that the policemen deployed to kill the man-eater were so poorly equipped that they were gripped by a fear psychosis. ``Such operations need specialisation which only the wildlife authorities can provide,'' said a local police officer. Despite the efforts, the leopard is still at large.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
