Terrorized by leopards, workers of the Tinsukia Division of Meleng Tea Estate in the district has decided to temporarily stop work today. Sources said that the workers had gone to the division in the morning when Nagen Munda (40) who was in front was mauled by a big cat while the other panic-stricken labourers fled the scene. The leopard, which pounced from a nearby drain, however, did not go in for the kill and escaped in the melee. Sources said that for the past few days three leopards had been sighted in the area and working in the divisions of Meleng Tea Estate had become a risk. In the last couple of years many leopards have increasingly come into conflict with man and many of these spotted cats have been killed or poisoned by villagers and tea garden labourers. According to estimates 45 leopards have been killed in the last two years. On the other hand three persons in Jorhat and Sivasagar districts have also been killed by these beasts and many others have been attacked and injured. The leopards attack when the villagers venture inside forests to gather firewood. A Forest Department source said that the leopards stray from the nearby Gibbon Wildlife sanctuary and mostly frequent villages in search of easy prey like goats and poultry.