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After the Forest Department failed to take action, villagers in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj captured the leopard that had been terrorising their area.
Despite complaints to the Forest Department about the leopard, no action was taken. (Photo Credits: X)
A video circulating online shows a group of villagers handling a leopard with their bare hands. The incident is said to have taken place in Lalpur village in Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, where locals were reportedly frustrated with the predator terrorising their area. But the video has sparked significant criticism as many social media users condemned the way the animal was handled. The footage, shared on X, shows several young men from the village restraining the leopard. One of them is seen holding the animal in a chokehold while another grips its neck. Others grabbed the leopard’s legs to ensure it didn’t escape.
According to details shared with the viral post, the villagers had repeatedly complained to the Forest Department about the leopard but no action was taken. Frustrated by the inaction, the locals decided to take matters into their own hands and captured the animal. Their drastic step was a result of growing fear and anger over the leopard’s presence in their village.
After the villagers managed to catch the leopard, they informed the Forest Department which eventually arrived to take charge of the situation.
“There was an atmosphere of fear among the villagers due to the activities of the leopard in Lalpur village of Nautanwa tehsil of Maharajganj district. The anger of the villagers increased as no concrete action was taken despite informing the forest department. Finally, the angry villagers themselves tried to catch the leopard and after a lot of hard work, they controlled it. The video of this entire incident went viral on social media. On getting information about the incident, the forest department team reached the spot and took necessary action to handle the situation,” read the caption shared by Uttar Pradesh.ORG News, written in Hindi, alongside the video.
https://twitter.com/WeUttarPradesh/status/1863914116408332681
The video quickly spread across social media, where users flooded the comment section to express their anger over how the animal was treated.
One user remarked, “The forest department team does not arrive at the right time for rescue, but the villagers catch the leopard by risking their lives, only after that the team arrives. Unbelievable.”
ऐन मौक़े पर वन विभाग की टीम नही अती है बचाव के लिए, लेकिन तेदुआ को ग्रामीण अपने जान् जोखीम मे डालकर पकड़तें है उसके बाद टीम पहुंचती हैं मतलब कुछ भी…!— @AsrarRizvi (@rizvi_asrar) December 4, 2024
An Instagram user wrote, “They are holding the leopard’s throat very hard, it can lead to death.”
“Kya ghatiya tareeke se treat kr Rae usko… (What a horrible way to treat the leopard),” someone else said.
Another commented, “How pathetic are humans dude, poor animal.”
