Two girls died in separate leopard attack incidents at Khanchikot village in Arghakhanchi in the past three days.

Police said eight-year-old Ashmita Mukhiya and five-year-old Lalita BK were killed in leopard attacks.

Lalita’s mother Laxmi said her daughter was dragged away by a leopard while she was studying at home.

Local teacher Narayan KC said leopard attacks are becoming common in the village. Children are mostly vulnerable to the attacks.

At least nine children have died in leopard attack incidents in the district in the past two years.

District Forest Officer Baliram Pandit said

leopards usually enter near human settlements in search of food.

District chief orders to

kill maneaters

Meanwhile, Chief District Officer Surendra Paudel has directed police to kill the leopards as a solution to the growing leopard attack incidents in the district. “The decision taken by a meeting of the District Security Committee recently was to save human lives because leopards have been causing havoc in some villages,” said Paudel.

He added that police teams have been mobilised in Khanchikot, Kur, and Dhikura forests to kill the maneater leopards.