In Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district, a leopard took advantage of pitch darkness at night to launch a fatal attack on a nine-year-old boy. The child, Rajveer, suffered deep wounds to his throat and neck and died during treatment, even though his mother fought the leopard barehanded to pull him free.
Power cut plunged the courtyard into darkness where the leopard lay in wait
The attack is reported to have taken place at around 9:30 pm. At that exact time, the electricity suddenly went out, plunging the entire area into darkness. Rajveer's mother, Kansila, was inside the house with her five young children when this happened. With no power, the courtyard outside had turned pitch dark. It was then that nine-year-old Rajveer felt thirsty and stepped out to drink water from the handpump installed in the courtyard. A leopard was already lying in wait nearby, and it used the cover of darkness to pounce on the child.
Mother fought the leopard for nearly two minutes to save her son
The moment she heard her son's screams, Kansila rushed out and confronted the leopard without any regard for her own safety. In a struggle that lasted close to two minutes, she refused to back down and eventually managed to pull Rajveer free from the animal's grip. By then, however, the leopard had already inflicted deep wounds on his throat and neck. He had lost so much blood that his condition turned critical.
No ambulance available, rushed in a private car, but could not be saved
Hearing the commotion, neighbours gathered at the spot, including local resident and social worker Mahipal Yadav. When repeated attempts to reach an ambulance failed, Mahipal Yadav drove the critically injured Rajveer to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Sujauli in his own private vehicle. Despite the effort, the boy succumbed to his injuries during treatment because of the deep wounds and heavy blood loss. News of his death sent the family into mourning. Police reached the spot after being informed, carried out the panchnama of the body and sent it for a post mortem examination.
Forest department gives financial aid, deploys staff in the village
The following morning, forest department ranger Ashish Gaur arrived at the village. He handed the grieving family an immediate financial assistance of Rs 10,000. Given the leopard's presence in the area, a team of forest department staff has also been deployed in the village as a precaution to prevent any further incident.
Angry villagers demand an end to night power cuts and solar lighting
The tragedy has left villagers deeply angry. Many believe that if the power had not gone out that night and the courtyard had remained lit, Rajveer's life could have been saved. Villagers staged a protest and placed three demands before the administration: an immediate end to power cuts at night, the installation of a cage to trap the leopard roaming the area, and the installation of solar lights in the village to prevent darkness from returning.
