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9-year-old boy killed in leopard attack in Junnar
A nine-year-old boy was killed by a leopard in Junnar, marking the sixth fatality in the area this year. Authorities are launching a search and capture operation.
A nine-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack in Junnar in the wee hours of Wednesday, Forest officials said. The victim has been identified as Rupesh Tanaji Jadhav, and the incident took place in the Tejewadi area on Ozar- Lenyadri road. Notably, this is the sixth fatality in the area due to a leopard attack since March this year.
As per reports, a leopard dragged the boy into a nearby sugarcane field while he went out for a bathroom break at dawn. According to forest officials, the boy was accompanied by his grandfather at the time of the attack.
The forest officials and the police team reached the spot and started a search for the boy. Around one and a half hours later, the boy was found dead in a nearby sugarcane field.
Pradip Chavan, range forest officer, Junnar said, “The body was sent to the rural hospital, where a postmortem was conducted. We later handed over the body to the family. The day before the incident, the electricity supply was disrupted in the village and the unfortunate incident took place in darkness at early morning hour.”
There is a large population of leopards around the Kukdi River basin. Considering this, the Junnar forest department has been making a strong appeal to the villagers to seriously follow the instructions of installing sufficient light lamps around every house.
After the incident, Amol Satpute, deputy conservator of forest, Junnar, said, “Instructions are given to catch the leopard. The search and capture operation has already been launched with the help of drone cameras. At least 10 cages and trap cameras are installed in this area. There are already 2 cages set up in Shiroli village close to this area.”
Meanwhile, the sixth death in the leopard attack has once again created panic among citizens in Junnar. Citizens are demanding strong action against growing leopard attacks in the area.
Vitthal Banote, district disaster management officer said, “ The forest department has suggested several measures and accordingly we have submitted a proposal to the state government about several measures that need to be taken as well as equipment required to mitigate the conflict situation in Junnar.”
