MP: A trekking team roaming outside Kuno Park in search of female cheetah Asha is attacked by villagers

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Shivpuri: A case of firing by villagers on a trekking team in search of a female leopard roaming outside the Kuno National Park has come to light. It is being informed that villagers attacked a cheetah tracking team in Burakheda village around 12.30 pm on Thursday night. It is being said that the villagers mistook the team for bandits and attacked them and when the team members started running away, they fired in the air and pelted stones at them, injuring several forest department personnel. The injured personnel have been admitted to the hospital.

Kuno Forest Division DFO PK Verma said on Friday that “Asha”, a female leopard brought from Namibia, has escaped from the enclosure of the park and reached the open forest. Based on the GPS around his neck, a forest department monitoring team reached the Shivpuri area in search of him. Information has been received that the team passed near Burakheda village of Shivpuri late on Thursday night. Seeing the team members leaving together at night, the villagers mistook them for cattle thieves and opened fire on them, but when the team did not return, the villagers attacked them. Meanwhile, the villagers beat up the team members and pelted stones. In which a forest department vehicle was also damaged. Four forest department employees were injured in the attack by the villagers. A case has been registered in the police station.

Here in Burakheda village, two or three incidents of theft have been reported in the past and there is still movement of robbers here. The forest department team that went out to find the leopard at night made two-three rounds in the village by vehicle. In such a situation, the villagers thought that they were bandits. Hence a villager also fired in the air. But even after firing, the team did not return from there. Because the forest department team members also came wearing dungarees. Bandits also wear dungarees. Hence the villagers misunderstood and attacked. Currently, the police have started an investigation in this matter.