Leopard strays into Nagaon village, attacks five; search operation underway

With the animal still untraced, the Forest Department has directed schools and local establishments to remain shut. Residents have been urged to stay indoors, avoid entering forested stretches, and keep children at home as the leopard’s movements remain unpredictable

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Leopard strays into Nagaon village, attacks five; search operation underway

Navi Mumbai: After a male sub-adult leopard strayed into Nagaon Village near Alibaug and injured five people on Tuesday morning, the Forest Department launched an operation to trace the big cat, which remains untraced. The department has directed schools and local establishments to remain shut, and urged the residents to stay indoors.

According to the forest department officials, the leopard was first spotted around 11 am on Tuesday outside a resident, Balu Sutar’s house. Forest officials said the injured—Prasad Sutar, Kunal Salunkhe, Amit Vartak, Mandar Gadkari and Bhausaheb Javre—are undergoing treatment at Alibag District Hospital.

“The leopard was huge, almost waist-high and extremely aggressive. Many of us saw it moving fearlessly through the lanes,” said resident Kedar Tarkar, an eyewitness. The leopard then moved toward the inner parts of Nagaon wadi, where over 10,000 people reside. Following this, schools shifted children to upper floors and asked parents to pick them up early.

With the animal still untraced, the Forest Department has directed schools and local establishments to remain shut. Residents have been urged to stay indoors, avoid entering forested stretches, and keep children at home as the leopard’s movements remain unpredictable. A large-scale search operation involving forest staff, police and drone surveillance is underway. The leopard has been moving between forest patches and residential pockets, complicating efforts to trap it, officials said.

A senior Forest Department officer said, “The leopard is not staying in one place. It keeps moving between the forest and residential pockets. Capturing it before nightfall is a major challenge due to the difficult terrain.”

Deputy Conservator of Forest Rahul Patil said more than 70 personnel, including a tranquilising team, are on the ground. “We are maintaining a night bandobast. The animal appears to have strayed and may return to the forest on its own,” he said.