Caught between the devil and deep, they live in fear of leopards and laws that defend them
For the people living in this settlement on the edge of the forest, this is not an isolated incident. It is a daily gamble with survival — wild animals on one side, government restrictions on the other.
Ankit Mishra, a local resident who first spotted the predator, recounted the chilling moment: 'I was heading towards the field when I heard a terrifying roar. When I flashed my torch, the leopard was right there on the school roof. I rushed back to alert everyone.'
The forest department was informed about the incident, he added. Eventually, the leopard leapt into a nearby sugarcane field, adding to the villagers' panic.
Ajay Kumar Sonkar, headmaster, Kailashpuri Primary School, expressed grave concerns and said the threat is constant. 'The school is surrounded by sugarcane fields and has a huge tree inside the campus. With the boundary wall broken, we constantly fear that the leopard might attack children or staff.' He also recalled that about five months ago, a cow was hunted by a leopard near the campus.
The fear is not just of claws — it is of laws too. Being inside a sanctuary zone means no new construction, no toilet building, no soil filling, and no house repairs. Village head, Chahalwa, Pritam Nishad, voiced the deeper frustration of the community: 'We are in a wildlife sanctuary area, so we cannot even build toilets, houses, or fill soil. Without proper land records, the forest department stops any construction.'
He said several Van Grams have been given the status of revenue villages but very few people got Khetauni (land records). He said due to sanctuary laws he could not do any development work like had been done in Nishad Nagar, Kailashpuri, Ramvrichhpurwa, Beria, Kailash Nagar that falls under Chahalwa gram panchayat. He also mentioned that only 15 days ago, a leopard injured a woman who had gone out for defecation.
Dozens of families — including Ambika Prasad Mishra, Rajkishore Mishra, and Mata Prasad — live within striking distance of where the leopard was seen. Residents demand 24/7 patrolling, cages to trap the leopard, and urgent repairs to the school boundary.
Shariq Rais Siddiqui
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