Lakhimpur Kheri: A 35-year-old worker in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district has made headlines across various social media platforms after he took on a leopard at the brick kiln single-handedly. Several channels and mobile phone websites are currently circulating a video of the animal’s death at the kiln.
The incident happened on Monday, June 23 at a brick kiln in Jugnupur village. It was in the Dhaurahara forest range and situated under the jurisdiction of the Lakhimpur Kheri district. When Mihilal Gautam was sweeping ash from the chimney at this kiln, the leopard that had been inside entered ahead and jumped on him. However, Gautam engaged the leopard in hand-to-hand wrestling for several minutes, fighting it to the ground and gripping its throat.
Fellow workers at the brick kiln rushed to help him and started bombarding the leopard with bricks and stones, making it run for the nearby banana plantation. But Gautam received injuries during their strife. “He fought the animal without fear, as he wasn’t ready,” says an eyewitness to The Free Press Journal.
The villagers reported to the forest department, and they hurried over to the place. The animal attacked them again in their plantation. Four people from the village had hospital treatment for injuries: Forest Guard Rajesh Kumar Dixit, Nripendra Chaturvedi, RV Constable Ram Sajivan, and Ikbal Khan. Gautam, Han, and Dixit were taken to the district hospital in Lakhimpur for treatment, while the remaining three people were sent to the Dhaurahara Community Health Centre.
The leopard was then tranquillised, captured by the Forestry Department, and taken to a safe site. “The operation was tough because the leopard was very aggressive. But we were able to capture it safely,” said one forest department official to News18 Hindi
The video is creating a stir on social media and has gained widespread popularity, especially on platform X. Some posts congratulated Gautam for his bravery, while one user called him a “liver hero who fought the battle of his life”. Nevertheless, the incident just reflects trends that are alarming for human-animal conflict in this district, which has seen leopard sightings increasing over recent months. A leopard in the area killed a farmer in February 2025.
The forest department has warned people to stay away from such places and report any wildlife they see to the appropriate departments. Although still under investigation itself, the incident points to the need for stronger measures against human-animal conflict in our area.