In a dramatic incident which took place in Belikothanur village in Kanakapura Rural on the outskirts of Bengaluru, around midnight on Friday, a 60-year-old man not only fought off a leopard, but saved a 75-year-old man from the big cat.

Jagadish (60), who owns a silkworm rearing farm, had employed Thammaiah (75) to help him. When the incident happened, Thimmaiah was asleep in the shed on the farm – he had forgotten to lock it from inside that night.

As the door was not latched, a leopard, which had strayed from a forest in the vicinity, came inside and attacked Thimmaiah.

Jagadish, who heard Thimmaiah’s screams, immediately woke up and rushed to the shed with a torch and a stick, initially thinking that the commotion was caused by the entry of a snake.

When Jagadish reached the shed, he found Thimmaiah bleeding and in pain. While he managed to take him out of the shed safely, the injured man was too shocked to reveal what was responsible for his condition.

It was up to Jagadish to go inside the shed and figure out what it was.

When he went inside and saw the leopard, he says he froze in fear. Despite knowing that it was a question of life or death for him, Jagadish decided to try and take on the wild cat.

“After staring at me for a few seconds the leopard roared and tried to advance towards me, but I poked it with my stick and pushed it back. Before the leopard could come to terms with what had happened, I ran out of the shed and locked it from outside,” Jagadish said.

Jagadish then informed fellow villagers and the forest department as well. Thimmaiah, who sustained injuries on his head and arm, was taken to the Kanakapura government hospital for treatment.

Apart from Thimmaiah, the leopard managed to injure one more person, Kiran, who attempted to peep inside the window of the shed to look at the animal on Saturday morning. Finally, officials from the Bannerghatta National Park arrived, tranquillised the leopard and were able to capture it.

The leopard was taken for observation to Channapatna. Officials may release it into the nearby forests from there.