Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RJP)

Udupi, Sep 20: A leopard has been giving sleepless nights to people for the past three days near Mahalingeshwara temple in Pareeka village, Athradi. They have stopped venturing out at night while their days are also fearful.

The leopard has appeared to many people and has also injured one. The injured person has been identified as Dinesh Poojary of Pareeka village. The leopard which came near Dinish’s house on Wednesday September 17 night managed to catch hold of the hens first and then also attacked a dog. It has not even spared people driving vehicles. It almost jumped on Prakash Shetty when he was riding his scooter and also on Dinesh Poojary when he was in his Maruti 800 car.

Manipal police and the forest department have been informed and they are on the lookout. Lately it is reported that some evidence to the movement of leopard has been found near end point park of Manipal in the form of footprints.

It should be remembered that during the same time, a leopard was spotted many times near Gopalakrishna temple, Ankadakatte at Koteshwar, Kundapur. In the past two weeks, leopard spotting has been repeated from the Basrur and Molahalli areas of Kundapur Taluk.

A proper game plan to address the leopard issue is yet to be revealed. Fearful moments continue in these areas.