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Five-year-old girl killed in leopard attack in Shirur; forest dept launches intensive search
Pune: A five-year-old girl was killed in a leopard attack while sleeping beside her parents in a cattle shed in Pimpalsuti village of Shirur taluka in the early hours of Wednesday, prompting the forest department to launch an intensive operation to trace the animal and step up safety measures in the area
Pune: A five-year-old girl was killed in a leopard attack while sleeping beside her parents in a cattle shed in Pimpalsuti village of Shirur taluka in the early hours of Wednesday, prompting the forest department to launch an intensive operation to trace the animal and step up safety measures in the area.
The family was staying in Pimpalsuti for sugarcane harvesting work.
According to the police, the incident occurred around 2:40 am on July 22 when Bhagyashree was sleeping with her parents inside a cattle shed owned by a local farmer. Following a complaint by the girl’s uncle, Babasaheb Kondiba Ware (36), Shirur police registered an accidental death case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
In his statement, Babasaheb Ware said the family woke up after hearing a sudden noise and saw a leopard carrying away the child. They immediately raised an alarm and chased the animal, but it disappeared into a nearby sugarcane field.
The family alerted the landowner, Machhindra Prahlad Bhosale, who informed the forest department and villagers. Forest officials launched a search operation and found the child critically injured in a sugarcane field about 700-800 metres from the cattle shed. She was rushed to the Rural Hospital at Nhavare, where doctors declared her dead before treatment. Officials said the leopard had partially consumed tissue from the child’s neck and cheek before abandoning the body.
Senior forest officials, including Deputy Conservator of Forests Prashant Khade, Assistant Conservator of Forests Rajhans and Range Forest Officer Nilkanth Gavhane, visited the spot to assess the situation. A spot panchnama was conducted and the body was sent for post-mortem examination.
Range Forest Officer Nilkanth Gavhane said special teams have been deployed to trace the leopard. “Cages are being installed at strategic locations, camera traps have been set up, drone surveillance has been initiated and night patrolling has been intensified to monitor leopard movement and ensure public safety,” he said.
Gavhane added that the process of providing ex gratia assistance to the bereaved family, as per government norms, has also begun.
The forest department has appealed to residents, especially those living near agricultural fields and sugarcane plantations, to avoid venturing out alone at night, keep a close watch on children and immediately report leopard sightings to forest officials.
The incident has once again highlighted the recurring human-leopard conflict in parts of Pune district, particularly in Shirur and Junnar, where dense sugarcane fields often serve as ideal cover for leopards, increasing the risk of encounters with humans.
