Tragedy: 6-year-old toddler killed while visiting Shitala temple in Chhattisgarh

By Susanta Kumar Behera

Nabarangpur: A six-year-old boy hailing from Odisha’s Nabarangpur was on Tuesday reportedly killed in a leopard attack at a temple in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

The deceased was identified as Abinash Ganda, a resident of Turudihi village in Raighara block of Nabarangpur district.

According to sources, the mishap occurred when Abinash along with his family had gone to Shitala temple at Sihawa in Chhattisgarh to offer puja on the occasion of Navratri.

The leopard which was hiding in the bush in the nearby forest attacked the minor while he was returning from the temple and dragged him into the jungle.

Later, the forest department personnel with the help of locals rescued the minor boy from the clutches of the big cat in a critical condition. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctor declared him brought dead.

According to the locals, Tuesday’s occurrence was not the first such incident where a child was killed by a leopard.  Earlier, three children were killed in the big cat attacks in the area.

Even though the forest department has been trying to catch the leopard for a long time, all their efforts have yielded no results, the locals said.

A pall of gloom descended on Turudihi over the tragic death of Abinash.