The three-year-old boy had a miraculous escape as a swift response from local police helped save him from the leopard attack.
A leopard that attacked a 3-year-old boy has been captured. (Representational image. iStock)
The Andhra Pradesh forest department has captured the leopard that recently attacked a three-year-old boy at Tirumala when he was on a pilgrimage with his family, a senior official said on Saturday, 24 June.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and Wildlife (APCCF, WL) Shanti Priya Pandey said the big cat was captured around 11 pm on Friday, 23 June.
It is a sub-adult male leopard captured at Mamandoor Mitta area near the Seventh Mile point, adjacent to the First Ghat road, Pandey told PTI.
The leopard went into the trap set by the Forest Department around the area where it took the boy away on Thursday, 22 June.
In the wake of the leopard attack, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that manages the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati on Friday decided to allow devotees only in groups of 200 accompanied by security guards, post 7 pm on the footpath.
A three-year-old boy had a miraculous escape as a swift response from local police personnel helped save him from the leopard attack on the Tirumala ghat road.
According to police, the child, who was walking with his grandfather when the animal pounced on him and took him away, grabbing the boy by his neck.
The incident occurred around 10 pm on Thursday, in the middle of the forest on the footsteps of the ghat road near Anjaneya Swamy statue between Tirupati town and Sri Venkateswara temple.
According to TTD Executive Officer AV Dharma Reddy, Tirupati Two town sub-inspector Ramesh and five to six police guards who were present nearby picked up sticks and ran into the forest in the direction of the leopard, flashing their cellphone lights immediately after the attack.
“They shouted loudly, and made noises which prompted the leopard to release the boy,” said Reddy.
Later, a vigilance guard heard the cries of the boy and secured him and announced via the wireless set that he had found the boy, said Reddy.
Once the boy was rescued, he was shifted to Padmavathi paediatric hospital. A team of expert doctors, including a neurosurgeon and neurologist from Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), treated the boy.
The doctors had noted that the boy is out of danger as he had not suffered any major injuries.
TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy said immediate steps would be taken to build a fence along both sides of the Alipiri and Srivari Mettu footpaths to avert such incidents in the future.
He made the announcement after meeting the boy from Adoni in Kurnool district in the hospital.
తిరుమల చిరుత దాడిలో గాయపడిన బాలుడి ని శ్రీ పద్మావతి చిన్న పిల్లల హృదయాలయానికి వెళ్లి పరామర్శించడం జరిగినది. pic.twitter.com/icOk5u3Ada
— Y V Subba Reddy (@yvsubbareddymp) June 23, 2023
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