Tirupati: The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department on Monday captured the leopard which mauled to death a six-year-old on the way to Tirumala.
The Forest Department had set a trap from the area where the girl's body was found.
The Andhra Pradesh government and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) together announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh had on Saturday to the bereaved family members of the six-year-old girl.
TTD chairman B Karunakara Reddy visited the spot where the girl's body body was found and appealed to all parents to be cautious of their children and keep them in their sight while trekking on the footpaths.
Meanwhile, executive officer A V Dharma Reddy said security has been beefed up along the vulnerable points on the footpath route to Tirumala.
As part of heightened security measures, he said 500 CCTV cameras are being planned from Gali Gopuram to Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, along with two cages being kept ready on a 24x7 basis.
He said the temple organisation will brainstorm on the possibility of closing both the trekking path routes in the afternoon.
Henceforth, Dharma Reddy said only groups of 100 people each accompanied by a security guard will be allowed at this vulnerable point, where the girl went missing, including deploying 30 TTD security guards and 10 more forest guards.
The incident
The six-year old girl was found dead following a suspected wild animal attack on the steps leading to Tirumala. The girl, a resident of Dornapadu village in Nellore district, was found lifeless in an area near Narasimha Swamy temple. The girl along with her family was climbing the footway to Tirumala when the incident occurred.
According to TTD's chief vigilance and security officer D Narasimha Kishore, the girl had asked her father to buy something but he refused, following which she moved away and went missing.
He said the girl had gone missing once but shopkeepers in the area found her and handed her over to the parents.
However, she went missing a second time and could not be traced.
Restrictions imposed
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams on Sunday imposed restrictions on pilgrims taking the footpath routes to the Lord Venkateswara temple in nearby Tirumala after recent incidents of wild animal attacks on children.
Pilgrims with children below 15 years of age will be allowed to trek on the footpath routes only between 5 am and 2 pm, it said in a release. Also, the TTD barred movement of two-wheelers between 6 pm and 6 am on ghat roads.
These decisions came into force on Sunday itself, following two wild animal attacks on children in Tirumala recently.
"In the wake of the attacks by wild beasts, especially targeting children, TTD has taken two important decisions which came into force from Sunday itself," it said in the release.
TTD, which administers the Sri Venkateswara temple, observed that movement of leopards had been identified at five places, which include three places near Alipiri to Galigopuram and at Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. On Saturday, it found leopard movement at the 38th turning as well.
Further, TTD chairman B Karunakara Reddy is scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday evening with top officials on safety measures for pilgrims on footpath routes and ghat roads.
(With PTI inputs.)
