Day after mauling, forest dept steps up efforts to capture leopard in Aarey

The move, according to officials in the know, was prompted not only by increasing tension and demands by Aarey residents, but also two incidents of leopards mock charging at people late Monday evening, though no deaths or grievous injuries were reported.

Mumbai: A day after a leopard mauled to death a 16-month-old toddler, Itika Lot, in Aarey Colony, the forest department stepped up its efforts to capture the animal, by installing one more cage and activating five other camera traps in the vicinity.

G Mallikarjuna, park director, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, said, “This could be because the animals are being disturbed by the sound of firecrackers during Diwali. (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The move, according to officials in the know, was prompted not only by increasing tension and demands by Aarey residents, but also two incidents of leopards mock charging at people late Monday evening, though no deaths or grievous injuries were reported.

Confirming the incident, G Mallikarjuna, park director, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, said, “This could be because the animals are being disturbed by the sound of firecrackers during Diwali. People are advised not to roam the area alone, especially children.” Though he did not comment on the specifics of the two incidents, Hindustan Times learnt that a doctor named Vijay Kulkarni, aged 69, claimed to have been charged at by a leopard, near Unit No 16, at around 7:45pm on Monday.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLA, Ravindra Wairkar, from the Jogeshwari (East) constituency visited Aarey Colony’s Unit No 15 on Monday afternoon, where Itika Lot lived. “After the Adarsh Nagar incident during Navratri where a young boy was attacked by a leopard, why weren’t precautions taken by the forest department to prevent such an incident. We are asking calmly today. Tomorrow we may not be as calm,” Waikar said, addressing the residents.

At 5:30am on Monday, the young girl from the area was picked up by a leopard just a stone’s throw away from her doorstep. Her mother, Bharati, had left the front door open as she went outside to light a diya in a temple, just a few feet away from their home, to commemorate the first day of Diwali, when Itika followed her out. The settlement borders the recently notified forest area of Aarey, now under the administrative control of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).

“We have narrowed in on a particular animal which we think may be responsible. She is a sub-adult female leopard. We think she is moving around the area looking for prey, so we are expanding our search radius. Some locals have come forward with reports of leopard sightings – we are keeping an eye on those parts as well. We are also pruning vegetation around tribal settlements close to Aarey’s forest patches for better visibility,” Mallikarjuna added.