Dibrugarh: A 42-year-old tea garden worker was injured in a leopard attack at Lakribam Tea Estate on Sunday night.The victim, identified as Nakul Goraik, was walking along a road inside the estate in Tingkhong, Dibrugarh, when the leopard pounced on him. He sustained injuries to his shoulders, hand and leg and is undergoing treatment at Tingkhong Tea Estate hospital.“It appeared out of nowhere and leapt at me. I tumbled three times before I could even understand what was happening,” Goraik said.He said he survived by raising an alarm. “I started shouting as loudly as I could. It was only after I raised a hue and cry that the leopard fled into the bushes,” he said.In a separate incident in the area that day, a leopard chased two young men riding a motorcycle. They escaped unhurt.The incidents have alarmed residents amid repeated leopard sightings in recent weeks. Residents said a large leopard and a smaller one were roaming the area, under the Khowang Range Forest Office, for nearly two months. The animals have allegedly preyed on villagers’ cattle and goats.“We are scared to step out of our homes, especially in the evenings and at night. Our children can no longer play outside freely,” a resident said.The leopards’ presence has disrupted the lives of tea garden workers, many of whom travel through garden roads and forested patches for work.Residents criticised the forest department over its alleged delayed and inadequate response despite repeated reports of sightings and attacks over the past two months.“We have informed the forest department several times, but no concrete action has been taken so far. How many more people need to be attacked before they respond?” a resident said.Residents demanded that the department install an iron cage to trap the leopards, warning that continued inaction could result in more casualties among people and livestock.
