MANSEHRA: The wildlife department has captured a feeble and unconscious exotic panthera pardus (leopard) from Bagar village of Garhi Habibullah.

“This is a rare species of leopards and came down to the populated area in Garhi Habibullah and we caught and shifted it to Dodial peasantry for treatment, and it would be freed on recovery in the same forest from where it came down,” Taimur Ali Shah, divisional officer wildlife, told reporters here on Sunday.

Mr Shah said a wildlife team netted the wildcat after the locals informed them about its presence there.

“We have launched an inquiry to unearth either someone followed the leopard to the village or it came down in search of food or water,” he said.

Mr Shah said the leopard was being kept and treated under vigilance of a doctor, and its condition was rapidly improving. “We have been doing our utmost to protect such exotic and rare species,” he said.

Also on Sunday, another team of wildlife captured the male partner of a civet cat that was captured last week.

According to an official, it could have caused harm to locals after having been separated from its female partner, which was captured after it attacked a family member of a local judge.

MENTALLY ILL WOMAN ASSAULTED: A man allegedly assaulted a mentally ill woman in Khatai area of Oghi on Sunday.

Mohammad Raheem barged into my house and raped my wife who is mentally ill, and then fled the scene, the victim’s husband told police.

He said he was not at home when the incident occurred.

The Oghi police lodged FIR under section 376 of CrPC and started making raids to arrest the suspect.

TIMBER SEIZED: The Lower Kohistan police have seized a huge quantity of high quality timber being smuggled to parts of the country from Swat on Saturday night.

“We have seized a truck loaded with high quality Deodar beams and arrested three smugglers,” Salman Khan, district police officer, told reporters on Sunday.

He said the timber, which was illegal cut from forests in Swat, was being smuggled through a truck, and the police intercepted the vehicle on a tip-off.

“The smugglers had kept wooden beams beneath animal fodder sacks to dodge police,” said Mr Khan.

He said three smugglers, including Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Zahid and Mohammad Khalid, were arrested who would be produced before a judge for physical remand.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2018