Udaipur: Temple Priest Mauled To Death In Suspected Leopard Attack As Gogunda On Edge After 5 Recent Deaths

An elderly temple priest in Rajasthan was killed in a suspected leopard attack, marking the sixth fatality in the Gogunda area due to multiple leopard incidents.

An elderly temple priest was killed in a suspected leopard attack in the Gogunda area of Rajasthan, officials said on Monday. The incident occurred on Sunday morning when 65-year-old Vishnu Giri, who was sleeping outside a temple in the Rathodo Ka Gudha area, was dragged into the forest and mauled to death by a wild animal. 

According to the police, Giri’s mutilated body was discovered about 150 metres from the temple on Monday morning, news agency PTI reported. Locals claimed that the attack was by a leopard, but forest officials stated that an investigation is underway to determine whether the priest was attacked by a leopard or another wild animal.

The region of Gogunda has been on edge due to multiple leopard attacks over the last few days. A report by India Today suggested that a man-eating panther claimed the priest's life. This latest incident marks the sixth fatality in the area in a string of similar attacks in the past 12 days.

Recent Leopard Attacks In Udaipur

On Saturday, a 65-year-old woman, Gattu Bai, was mauled to death in a suspected leopard attack in the nearby Gurjaron ka Guda village. According to PTI, officials reported that Gattu Bai was attacked when she was alone at her home. When her husband returned and could not find her, he alerted the villagers. They discovered pieces of her saree, some jewellery, and traces of blood, which eventually led them to her mutilated body in a nearby forest.

A forest official indicated that the post-mortem report will confirm whether it was indeed a leopard that attacked her or another animal.

In the wake of these repeated incidents, a panther was captured in the Gogunda forest area on late Saturday night. However, earlier attacks saw other victims, including a 16-year-old girl on 18th September, a 50-year-old man on 19th September, a 40-year-old woman on 20th September, and a five-year-old girl on 25th September. All these attacks occurred at different locations in Gogunda.

Forest authorities have since placed five cages to capture the leopard, who is believed to have taken shelter in the nearby hilly area. Prior to the capture on Saturday, three other leopards had already been captured in the Gogunda region as part of ongoing efforts to manage the growing leopard threat.