Headless body of 65-yr-old woman found

Alipurduar: The decapitated remains of an elderly woman were discovered in Jateswar, situated in the Falakata block of Alipurduar district. Local residents assert that the woman fell victim to a leopard attack. Meanwhile, forest officials from the Dalgaon Range of the Jalpaiguri Wildlife Division are placing cages in the area as a preventive measure.

According to local sources, Saradini Roy, aged 65 years, a resident of Atitapara Bangkandi in Jateswar Falakata, went to a tubewell to wash dishes around 9 pm on Sunday. Locals claim that she was suddenly attacked and dragged away by a wild animal in the darkness.

Upon receiving information, police and Forest department officials located the headless body of the woman concealed behind bushes at 11:30 pm. Despite an overnight search, her head remained unallocated. However, around 5 am on Monday, the woman’s bloodied head was discovered roughly 500 metre away from the initial scene.

The body was sent to Alipurduar District Hospital for postmortem examination. The incident has triggered panic within the locality.

Ujjal Ghosh, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for North Bengal, remarked: “Forest workers have identified signs of a leopard in the area. Nevertheless, we cannot confirm whether the elderly woman’s demise resulted from a leopard attack until the post-mortem is completed. Compensation will be arranged as per government regulations only once all aspects are verified.”