Horrific footages have emerged of two runaway leopards entering into a village and mauling villagers in central India. On May 20, residents of Fatehpur village in Mandsaur district woke up to the news that two big cats were loitering in their vicinity. That they were running amok in the area and attacking whoever came in their way.

The news spread like a jungle fire and soon a mob of hundreds of people surrounded the farm where the leopards were hiding.
The villagers informed the police and the forest rangers about the spotting of the runaway big cats in the area. But when they 'didn't show up for around 4 hours', the angry mob decided to take the matter in their hands. As the people tried to chase the big cats away, the leopards pounced on them. Angry, the mob armed with sticks and stones, caught hold of one of the beasts and lynched it in full public view.

According to sources, the one lynched was a cub while the mother is still loitering in the area. Villagers fear that the mother would come back to avenge the death of her baby. This has forced people to lock themselves up inside their houses.

Local Journalist Rajesh Prajapati(striped shirt) who was attacked by the leopard while covering the story told Newslions: "I was busy covering the incident but had no idea that I would myself become the news. The big cat pouched on my back. I was lucky to duck it, but I still got deep gashes in my back and arms."
DFO Mayank Chandiwal said: "We got information two leopards have sneaked into village around 9am. It was really cruel on the part of the villagers to kill cubs.