Leopard that killed five-year-old girl in Chikkamagaluru, shot dead by Forest Department
Chikkamagaluru: A leopard believed to have killed a five-year-old girl and injured an 11-year-old boy in Tarikere was found dead on Saturday after sustaining a bullet wound during a Forest Department operation to capture it.
Forest officials said the animal was shot in self-defence when it suddenly charged at a staff member who was attempting to tranquilise it near Byrapura village. The leopard had been the focus of an intensive search after two attacks in the region earlier this week. The five-year-old victim, Saanvi, was killed while playing outside her home in Navilukallugudda village near Mundre. On Friday, an 11-year-old boy, Hruday from Byrapura, sustained serious injuries in a separate attack.
Residents of Shivapura, Nandi, Kenchapura, Kenchapura Gate and Byrapura had urged authorities to capture the animal, citing widespread fear. Following approval from senior officials, the Forest Department launched an operation on Friday night after receiving information that the leopard had been sighted near the Byrapura road.
On Saturday, a large team comprising veterinarians from Mangaluru, Bandipur, Bannerghatta, Shivamogga and Tyavarekoppa zoos, a leopard task force from Mysuru, an elephant squad from Chikkamagaluru and three elephants from Sakrebail in Shivamogga joined the operation. The group tracked the leopard to dense bushes near Byrapura.
Veterinarian Dr. Yashaswi and his assistant, accompanied by two armed forest staff, moved in to tranquilise the animal. Officials said the leopard suddenly leapt at one of the staff members, prompting him to fire in self-defence. The injured leopard escaped into the thicket.
The search continued, and the team later found the leopard dead with a bullet wound. The carcass was seized for legal formalities. Local residents expressed relief following confirmation of the animal’s death.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
