Lakhimpur Kheri, May 16 -- Half a dozen villagers were injured in attacks by wild animals at three different locations across the district on Friday morning, Kheri forest department officials said. Among these, two attacks - one in Tansukhpurwa of Gola forest range and the other in Banwaripur village under Shardanagar range - were reported from the south Kheri forest division, while the last one in which four persons are reported to have been injured, took place at Dhaurahra range of Dudhwa buffer zone. In the first incident reported from Dhaurahra range of Dudhwa buffer zone on Friday morning, one Maya Prakash (40) of Imaliya village and other villagers was working in his field when all of a sudden a leopard emerged from the field and attacked on him, injuring him on his neck. Other farmers working in the neighbouring fields heard his cries and rushed to Maya Prakash's rescue. They challenged the leopard and forced it to flee. However, in their efforts to chase away the big cat, Bhagirath of Imaliya village, Vipin of Shuklan Purwa and Sandeep of Bhedhiya village all under Isanagar police limits sustained injuries. All were rushed to Isanagar Community Health Centre, but Maya Prakash was sent to the district hospital in view of his condition. All were reported to be out of danger. Manoj Tiwari, sub divisional officer (SDO), confirmed attacks by the leopard on the farmers and said fortunately, no serious injuries were reported. He added forest officials and police personnel have been deployed to the area to manage the crowds and monitor the leopard's movement. In the second incident, in the Gola forest range, 16-year-old Jyoti was attacked by a leopard while she had gone to attend nature's call along the Sharda, which is close to her village, and also in close proximity to the reserved forests. After the attack, the errant leopard escaped into the standing crops, leaving the injured girl crying for help. Hearing her frantic cries, villagers rushed to her rescue and immediately carried her to district hospital, where her condition was reported to be out of danger. Tapas Mihir, DFO, south Kheri, confirmed the incident and said the pugmarks found at the site established the attack by a leopard. He added that the teenager was undergoing treatment at the district hospital, where her condition is reported to be stable. The last attack took place in Banwaripur village under Shardanagar forest range of south Kheri forest division on Friday morning, where some unidentified wild animal attacked a farmer while he was working in his sugarcane field and left him injured, though not very seriously. The errant wild animal took shelter in the neighbouring fields after the attack. The injured farmer was provided medical treatment and his condition was reported to be safe. AK Malla, range officer, rushed to the spot and carried out combing of the area. Tapas Mihir told Hindustan Times that pugmarks to identify the errant wild animal could not be collected, however, he said the nature of injuries caused by the wild animal prima facie indicated it to be either a jackal or a wild boar. The DFO further said a thermal drone survey of the area will be carried out in the evening to ascertain the presence and movements of the wild animal there and identification of the wild animal would be possible after the thermal drone survey. Meanwhile, reports said forest officials in Banwaripur had cordoned off the cane field with nets on three sides, where errant wild animal was suspected to be hiding and had set up a cage in the open area.HTC...