Chennai– A leopard believed to have mauled a four-year-old girl to death near Valparai in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district has been successfully captured by the state Forest Department, officials confirmed Thursday.
The animal was trapped in the early hours of the morning in a cage placed near Pachamalai, close to the tea estate where the fatal attack occurred. The trap had been installed just 700 meters from estate workers’ line houses, near the very spot where young Roshini Kumari was dragged away and killed on Friday, June 20.
Roshini, the daughter of migrant workers from Jharkhand, had moved with her family to the Pachamalai tea estate only 10 days prior. The attack happened around 6:30 p.m. while she was outside. The leopard reportedly dragged her into dense tea bushes and a nearby forest patch. Her remains were recovered the next day at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Following the incident, the Forest Department, in coordination with officials from the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), launched a massive search operation. Twenty camera traps were deployed across the area to monitor leopard movement, particularly near workers’ housing and forest boundaries.
On Sunday, Pollachi Member of Parliament K. Eswarasamy visited the bereaved family and handed over a compensation package of ₹9.5 lakh. An immediate relief amount of ₹50,000 had already been disbursed to the family on Saturday.
The incident has reignited concern over recurring human-wildlife conflict in the Valparai plateau, a region known for frequent leopard sightings, especially during early morning and evening hours. Forest authorities have urged local residents to remain alert and to avoid venturing out during high-risk periods.
This marks the third major leopard-related incident in Valparai in less than a year. In October 2024, another four-year-old girl, Apsara Khatun—also from a migrant family—was killed in a leopard attack near the Uzhemala estate. Prior to that, on November 6, 2023, a seven-year-old boy named Pradeep was injured in a similar encounter near Sirukundra within ATR limits.
Wildlife experts are calling for long-term mitigation strategies, including protective fencing, better lighting in residential areas, and possible relocation of vulnerable settlements away from forest fringes. Forest officials have pledged ongoing efforts to enhance community safety and prevent future tragedies. (Source: IANS)
