Days after a leopard mauled a 4-year-old boy to death in Valparai near Malakkappara, the animal was caught in the wee hours of Wednesday. 

The leopard was trapped by forest department officials, who had been searching for the animal ever since the death of Saidullah last Thursday. He was the son of Musharaf and Sabiya, who are estate workers and natives of Jharkhand. 

The leopard fell into one of the two traps set up by the forest department officials near the boy's house, at around 5 am. The forest department had placed the cages a few days ago. The residents woke up to the noise of the leopard after it got caught in the trap and informed the forest officials. 

According to reports, the leopard will be let out in the interior forest later in the day. 

This comes after days of protests carried out by the residents of Valparai following the boy's death. The boy, the son of estate workers, was dragged from his house and mauled to death a little after 6 pm on Thursday. This, after the boy's mother had given him a bath and made him stand near the kitchen of the house. The leopard dragged the child out of the house, when the mother had gone inside. Horrified, his mother immediately alerted the local residents. 

The panicked residents, who launched a search for the boy immediately after, could only recover his body an hour later. This soon led to widespread agitation against the district administration and the forest department, with the residents blocking roads. The residents were agitated following a series of similar attacks in the past. 

The residents had been living in fear ever since the attack, since several CCTV visuals from the area had confirmed the presence of the leopard in the days following the attack on the boy. 

 Although the local protests have subsided following the leopard being caught, the residents have now demanded that the trap be permanently set up in the locality.