Bengaluru: A 55-year-old priest died after a leopard attacked him inside a farm near Magadi, Ramanagara-Bengaluru South early Monday morning.The deceased is Shivaswamy, a resident of Kalludevanahalli and the main priest with Mahadeshwara temple in his village.According to police, Shivaswamy had left home around 5.45am to collect flowers for his temple from the agricultural field, around 400 metres away from home. According to villagers, it was Shivaswamy’s routine to collect flowers for the temple by predawn.However, by 7am, Shivaswamy was found lying in a pool of blood by a milkman who alerted the villagers. “At first, the milkman wondered why Poojarappa (Shivaswamy) was lying with his face down. When went near, milkman saw blood oozing out from the priest’s neck and abdomen. There were pug marks near the body. The milkman realised that an animal had attacked and killed the priest,” Magadi police told TOI.Later, the forest officials visited the spot and confirmed that the pug marks belonged to a male leopard. “Shivaswamy had collected a basketful of flowers when he was attacked. The flowers were scattered near the body,” police said.
