MANSEHRA, Nov 26: Villagers killed a leopard after it injured four villagers, two of them critically, in Bakai Pakha area of Bagurmung union council on Wednesday.

The leopard, which came down from Battal jungle in search of food, first attacked Mashood Khan and Mohammad Ghulam in Battal and then moved to Bakai Pakha area where it attacked Mohammad Farooq and Mohammad Sharif, critically injuring them. They were taken to the district headquarters hospital.

Shinkiary police registered a case on the complaint of Mohammad Farooq. In his report Mr Farooq said that if his relatives had not killed the leopard, it might have attacked children in a nearby school. When came to know about the killing of leopard, range officer of wildlife department, Khursheed Khan, reached the spot and shifted it carcass to wildlife office in Mansehra.

Mr Khursheed, when contacted, said the leopard was a male and measured seven feet and four inches in length and three feet six inches in height.

He said that wildlife department was striving hard to save the wildlife and related laws were strictly followed but sometime wild animals could not be protected because of their wild nature.