Farmer injured in leopard attack near Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

Pilibhit: A 50-year-old marginal farmer working at an MNREGA site in Gajraula Khas village near Pilibhit Tiger Reserve's Haripur range was injured in a suspected leopard attack on Thursday. Police said he had gone to a sugarcane field, about 300m from the forest area, when the incident occurred.Locals rushed to the spot after hearing his screams and took him to the community health centre in Puranpur. Forest officials said they could not confirm the attack as no pug marks were found in the field.However, community health center (CHC) medical officer Dr Ankit Kumar said the injuries were consistent with a wild animal attack, with deep wounds on the chest, shoulder, elbow and hip. Village head Bagwan Deen said pug marks cannot be traced easily in dense sugarcane fields.