Water pipeline worker attacked by leopard in Himachal Pradesh

The leopard, who reportedly attacked the man while he was laying a water pipeline, fled the spot when the victim's co-workers arrived on hearing his cries.

According to police, the incident occurred in the forest adjoining Salana village near Shoghi at about 1530 hrs on Wednesday afternoon, when some workers were laying water pipelines in the area for an irrigation and public health (IPH) project.

“One of them, Abdul Gafur, was allegedly attacked by the leopard while he was at work. The rest of the workers were present some distance away. They rushed to the spot after hearing Gafur's cries and the animal fled on seeing them,” said a police official.

Gafur received injuries on his right leg where the leopard attacked him with its paw, and was given first aid before being rushed to the IGMC hospital in Shimla for treatment, the police said.

The victim is a resident of Mandi in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, and had arrived in Shimla along with his two sons and five others after being hired by an IPH contractor, officials said.

“We have alerted the forest authorities, and the concerned divisional forest officer has sent a wildlife team to the spot to search and capture the animal,” he added.