Guwahati, India: A leopard that accidentally entered a residential area colony on the outskirts of Guwahati, Assam, was cornered by a group of men, who beat it to death before the forest department could arrive at the scene and rescue the animal.
In a video that is viral on social media right now, locals can be seen parading the dead body of the leopard as a trophy as spectators cheered them.
6 people that were seen in the video have been arrested by the police, confirmed NDTV.
A search for other people that are involved in the crime is on.
Locals said the incident could have been avoided if the forest department acted proactively.
The forest department admitted that they were alerted about a trapped leopard at 5 am on Sunday but before they reached the spot, it left.
Some locals followed the animal into the forest and killed it.
The incident happened in a reserved forest area of Guwahati, Assam.
An official investigation has been launched and a search for the other men that killed the leopard has been launched, said the police.