Mother Watches In Horror A Leopard Attack And Kill Her Daughter Near A Tea Plantation Area In Valparai

Coimbatore: In a heart-wrenching incident near Valparai, Coimbatore district, a four-year-old girl was attacked by a leopard in full view of her mother, dragged into a nearby forest and killed.

The child’s body was later recovered deep inside a forested area, prompting widespread grief and alarm among local residents and plantation workers.

The tragedy occurred in the Pachamalai estate, a privately owned tea plantation in Valparai. The workforce at the plantation constitute migrant labourers from Bihar, Jharkhand, and other northern states.

They live in estate quarters, bordering the plantation and forest patches. Among them were Manoj Munda and his wife Monica Kumari from Jharkhand, who had been working and residing in the estate with their young daughter, Roshni.

On the evening of June 20, Roshni was reportedly playing near a temple close to the estate when a leopard, which had been hiding in the tea plantation, suddenly pounced on Roshni in front of her mother and dragged her away.

The mother, who witnessed the horrific incident, screamed for help, drawing the attention of nearby workers. They rushed to the scene and began searching the surrounding area.

Police and forest department officials were immediately alerted who launched an intensive search operation. However, due to nightfall and poor visibility, the search had to be temporarily abandoned. It resumed early the next morning with five special teams and sniffer dogs combing the area.

Eventually, the girl’s body was found mutilated in a densely wooded section of the estate. Forest officials retrieved the remains and sent them to the Valparai Government Hospital for post mortem examination. The incident triggered deep sorrow and widespread fear among estate workers and local residents.

Chief Minister Announces Relief

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has announced a solatium of ₹10 lakh for the bereaved family. Further, DMK Urban Secretary Sudhakar confirmed that Minister Muthusamy and Member of Parliament Easwaraswamy will visit the estate on June 22 to assess residential safety and security conditions for estate workers.

Locals have expressed concern over frequent sightings of wild animals including leopards, bears, and elephants in and around their residential areas. They have urged forest officials and anti-poaching units to take immediate action to prevent such encounters and to capture the leopard that killed the girl. The tragic incident underscores the pressing need for enhanced wildlife management and community safety measures in forest-adjacent human settlements.