Kaushik, the little boy from Adoni in Kurnool district who was attacked by a leopard on the Tirumala ghat road recently, was discharged on Friday after full recovery.
In the incident, which happened on June 22 night at the 7th mile point on the first ghat road, a sub-adult leopard on the prowl made a vain bid to lift Kaushik and run away into the woods. However, with security guards and fellow pilgrims chasing the animal for nearly 100 metres and distracting it by pelting stones, leopard dropped the boy and fled. He was admitted to Sri Padmavati children’s hospital at Alipiri.
TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, who called on the boy during his discharge, called it a providential escape for the boy due to the blessings of Lord Venkateswara. “The forest officials caught the leopard and left it deep inside the forest,” Mr. Reddy said, adding that steps had been taken to prevent such incidents.
Executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy called it a divine intervention and lauded the hospital authorities for providing timely medical treatment. The boy’s parents B. Pulikonda and B. Sireesha thanked the TTD management for its help.
Joint executive officer Sada Bhargavi and the hospital’s director N. Sreenath Reddy were present.
