Three people were injured by a leopard during a picnic in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district on Sunday, after a group began filming and teasing the animal to approach them.
Among the injured were a woman and an off-duty police officer, both of whom sustained severe head injuries.
In a 29-second video, picnickers are seen gathered around a small hill, calling out. Despite warnings from one person off-camera, the group continued to taunt the leopard with calls of “aa jaa, aa jaa.” Moments later, the leopard appeared from the bushes, and chaos erupted as it charged toward the group.
Leopard attack in Shahdol range of Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/iXYnxnkXSD
— Dilshad (@dilshad_akhtar1) October 21, 2024
Amid panicked screams, the leopard attacked, with one man seen being pounced on. The animal tried to bite his neck while others shouted in horror. Three individuals—Nitin Samdariya (35), an ASI with Shahdol police, Akash Kushwaha (23), and Nandini Singh (25) were injured by the leopard’s claws and teeth.
Several other group members were hurt in the resulting stampede. “The woman sustained severe injuries as the leopard dug its claws into her head,” said Bhupendra Mani Pandey, the officer in charge of Sohagpur police station.
