Fifth leopard trapped in Tirumala, no compromise in pilgrim security says Bhumana

TIRUMALA: The Forest department and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) have succeeded in trapping one more leopard taking the total number of big cats caught since the killing of a little girl Lakshitha near Narasimha Swamy temple on the Alipiri walkway to five.

The fifth leopard was caught near the same spot near the seventh mile close to the Narasimhaswamy temple where the girl went missing. Forest officials spotted the leopard movement and laid a trap four days ago.

“Yet another leopard was caught because of the constant vigil of forest and TTD officers. The leopard was caught just after midnight on Wednesday. We will not compromise in providing security and protection to devotees that throng the temple,” TTD Chairman Bhumana Karunakara Reddy said on Thursday after visiting the spot where the leopard was trapped.

He said that so far two children were attacked on the Alipiri walkway in which one girl was mauled by the animal to death. “Following that incident unprecedented security efforts were made and several measures were implemented to provide a security blanket for devotees that opt for Alipiri or Srivari Mettu trekking tracks,” he said. He said that devotees were sent in groups of one hundred each along with a security person to guide them. The TTD also offered devotees sticks to instill confidence while taking the walkway route for darshan in Tirumala.