Bengaluru, May 11 (IANS) The Karnataka government announced Rs 20 lakh compensation on Monday for deceased boy Harshith Gowda’s family who died in a leopard attack in Nagamale in Male Mahadeshvara Hills region in Chamarajanagar district in the state. The horrific incident had occurred on Sunday.

The Forest department has announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the family and already handed over a Rs 5 lakh cheque to the family. The rest of the amount would be deposited directly to the account of the family of the boy.

It can be recalled that Harshith Gowda, a resident of Vrushabhavathi Nagar in Kamakshipalya, Bengaluru, was travelling along the Nagamale route on Sunday morning with 10 members of his family as part of a foot pilgrimage when the leopard attacked them near Indiganatha. The animal dragged the boy away in front of his family members.

The tragic incident occurred near Indiganatha village in Hanur taluk. Forest officials later launched a search operation and recovered the boy’s body from inside the forest.

The movement of the leopard that killed the child has now been captured on a thermal drone camera.

Following the incident, the Forest Department has intensified efforts to capture the leopard and has installed four cages in the area. More than 30 forest personnel have camped at the spot, while a thermal drone team kept vigil on the leopard throughout the night. As a precautionary measure, devotees have been temporarily barred from travelling to Nagamale.

Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Monday accused the state government of failing to ensure the safety of devotees visiting the Male Mahadeshwara Hills shrine, following a series of leopard attacks in the region.

In a statement, Ashoka said that three leopard attacks had taken place within a span of a few days, resulting in the deaths of two innocent devotees. “Is this not an administrative failure? Is this not gross negligence on the part of the government?” he questioned.

–IANS

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