Bahraich : A woman has suffered injuries in a leopard attack near Katarnia Ghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich District.

The woman named Madhuri, aged 20, who lives near Sirsianpurva village in the Sadar Beat area of the Katarnia Ghat Forest Range, was sleeping on a cot outside her house around 1:30 am when a leopard came out of the forest and attacked her. The leopard grabbed her and started dragging her towards the forest, they said.

When Madhuri screamed, the villagers quickly  rushed to help her. They used sticks to hit the leopard and managed to free her. However, by the time they rescued her, Madhuri had already been badly injured.

The woman, Madhuri was initially taken to a local hospital  but due to a deep injury on her head, she was later transferred to the district hospital where she is undergoing treatment. 

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Katarnia Ghat B Shiv Shankar confirmed the incident, stating that the woman's condition worsened at the Sujauli PHC, leading to her admission to the district hospital.

Forest personnel in the area have been alerted. An awareness campaign has also been launched in the villages around the incident site, advising villagers not to go out late at night and not to sleep outside their houses, the DFO said.