A leopard entered four houses in Uchwa Balapur village under the Chakia range of Bahraich forest division and injured four sleeping children within two hours between Friday night and Saturday morning, prompting the forest department to intensify patrols around the residential area.
The attacks took place between 1am and 3am while the children, two girls and two boys aged between four and 10, were sleeping with their families. The injured were identified as four-year-old Shamsuddin, seven-year-old Israr, 10-year-old Lakshmi and six-year-old Sheeba.
The children were taken to the Community Health Centre in Motipur for treatment. Doctors provided primary care and referred Shamsuddin to a medical college because of the seriousness of his injuries. The condition of the other three children was not immediately known.
The attacks triggered panic in Uchwa Balapur after residents heard screams and rushed out of their homes with sticks and other makeshift weapons to drive away the animal. Villagers initially suspected that a hyena may have entered the settlement, but a forest department team that reached the area examined the incident and confirmed that the attacks had been carried out by a leopard.
Divisional Forest Officer, Bahraich, Sundaresh, said the department suspected that the animal was a juvenile leopard separated from its mother. He said the animal may have strayed into the village from the forest while searching for her and attacked the sleeping children in the process.
The incident highlights the immediate safety risks faced by settlements located close to forest areas, where wildlife movement can bring emergencies directly into homes. In this case, the animal reportedly entered separate houses at night, making the attacks difficult for families to anticipate or prevent.
Following the attacks, forest personnel increased patrolling in and around the village to monitor the leopard’s movement and prevent further incidents. Officials also began reaching out to residents and advising them to remain alert, particularly after dark.
The forest department appealed to villagers not to leave children unattended at night and to exercise extra caution while moving around their homes and areas adjoining the forest. Personnel are also sensitising residents about precautions to take if a wild animal enters a residential area. The department’s intensified patrols and monitoring will determine the next response to the leopard’s presence near the village.
