Child Killer Leopard Captured Near Tirupati Temple

Tirupati: The leopard that allegedly attacked and killed a six-year-old girl near the famous Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati was captured.

Forest officials set up a trap to catch the killer leopard along with the installation of about a dozen cameras in the area.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) cautioned the parents, “Pilgrims accompanied by children aged below 15 years, can trek only between 5 am to 2 pm.”

The movement of the two-wheelers has also been restricted from 6 pm to 6 am.

TTD Chairman Sri B Karunakara Reddy has called up a high-level meeting on Monday evening to discuss on the safety of the pilgrims in both the footpath routes and Ghat roads.

The girl named Lakshita is suspected to have wandered off into the forest while trekking up the hill with her parents. She was mauled by the wild leopard and her body was found near another temple on the pedestrian path that leads to the hill shrine in Tirupati.

In June, a three-year-old boy was injured by a leopard attack in the area. The attacking leopard was captured and later released into another forest.