“Six-Year-Old Girl Killed in Leopard Attack on Tirumala Pedestrian Route”

A six-year-old girl was killed in a leopard attack along the Alipiri pedestrian route to Tirumala. This is the first death reported due to a leopard attack in this area. The girl’s body was found in the nearby forest, with her upper body mauled by the leopard. Panic has spread among devotees trekking to Tirumala. Sandeep Raghavan reported

A tragic incident occurred in Tirupati, where a six-year-old girl was killed in a leopard attack while trekking along the Alipiri pedestrian route to Tirumala. This unfortunate event marks the first reported death due to a leopard attack along this popular route.

The victim, identified as Lakshitha, resided in Pothireddypalem village in Kovvur mandal of Nellore district. She was accompanied by her parents, Dinesh Kumar and Sasikala, as they made their way up to Tirumala on Friday evening. The attack took place near the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple point, around 7.30pm-8pm, when a leopard suddenly attacked the family and snatched the girl, dragging her into the nearby forests.

Despite the desperate efforts of the parents and other pedestrians, they were unable to rescue the child due to the darkness of the night. The next morning, authorities from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, along with the local police and forest department staff, conducted a search in the forest area. Tragically, they discovered Lakshitha’s body near the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, with her upper body severely mauled by the leopard.

The girl’s remains were taken to the SVRR Government General Hospital in Tirupati for postmortem, while her grieving parents were inconsolable. As news of the leopard attack spread, panic gripped the devotees who trek up to Tirumala.

It is worth noting that a similar incident occurred on June 22 this year, when a 5-year-old boy narrowly escaped a leopard attack near the 7th mile along the Alipiri pedestrian route. The leopard responsible was captured and released far away from the pedestrian routes, leading many to believe that the threat had been eliminated. However, after a month and a half of tranquility, the leopard menace has returned to haunt the devotees trekking up to Tirumala, especially now with the first-ever reported death along this route.

This tragic event serves as a reminder of the dangers that can be encountered in these natural habitats and highlights the need for increased vigilance and precautions to ensure the safety of those making the pilgrimage to Tirumala..