Villagers beat leopard dead in Panchagarh

A wild leopard was beaten to death by villagers in Panchagarh amid presence of police and Forest Department officials on Saturday.

Ismail Hossain, a resident of Bashuniapara village, said his daughter first spotted the leopard near Pathraj River at Doulotpur in the noon.

Reacting to her screams, hundreds of people gathered in Boda upazila.

The gathering and screams forced the leopard to take shelter in a nearby bush filled with water spinach. Villagers soon started hurling stones toward the animal.

Being informed, policemen along with members of Forest Department rushed in, sadly, the villagers beat the endangered animal mercilessly and killed it, said Gamiruddin and Nur Islam, residents of the village.

Moynadighi Union Parishad Chairman Md Abdul Jabber said at least four people sustained minor injuries while trying to have a look at the leopard, reports UNB.

Boda Police Station Officer-in-charge Abu Haider Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman said, "Intention of the police was not to save the animal, but to protect the villagers from it, and the villagers killed the leopard when it tried to get out of the bush in the evening."

Boda Upazila Forest Department Officer Anwar Hossain said, "We tried to stop the mob, but failed to save the leopard."

Police later recovered the animal’s body and took it to the police station, from there it was transferred to the forest department.