Ganderbal: Wildlife officials Tuesday captured a leopard alive in Ganderbal district.
Officials said that the leopard was caught in an orchard near the Kondbal area along the Mansbal belt here. They said that, as per the traces and other identifications, the captured leopard was believed to be the same one that mauled a 3-year-old girl identified as Mahiya Shabir, daughter of Shabir Ahmad Bhat near Zazuna fruit mandi and took her away on July 11.
Her mutilated body was later recovered from a nearby field.
The leopard had been roaming in the residential areas in the twin districts of Bandipora and Ganderbal.
DFO Wildlife, Ganderbal, Altaf Ahmad told Greater Kashmir that they received information about the presence of a leopard in the Mansbal belt after which teams of the Wildlife department armed with necessary equipment visited the area and captured the leopard alive Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, locals said that they heaved a sigh of relief after the Wildlife officials caught the leopard.