Pune:
A three-year-old girl died after a leopard attacked and carried her away in Dindori taluka of Maharashtra’s Nashik district, causing panic and grief in what remains one of the worst-affected regions. According to forest officials, the taluka has reported six human deaths over the past one-and-a-half years, with children accounting for a majority of the victims.
The latest incident took place in the evening on Tuesday, April 21, in Valkhed village of Dindori taluka. The victim, identified as Dnyaneshwari Vilas More, belonged to a family of farm labourers. At the time of the incident, she was reportedly playing in front of her house. According to officials, the attack occurred between 7 pm and 7.30 pm when a leopard, suspected to have been lurking nearby, suddenly pounced on the child and dragged her away before anyone could intervene.
Panic-stricken family members and nearby workers raised an alarm and began searching for the child. Police and forest department teams were alerted and joined the search operation. After an overnight search, the girl’s body was found nearly one kilometre away in a guava orchard. Authorities confirmed that she had died in the leopard attack.
Forest officials said surveillance and monitoring efforts have been intensified in the area. Sushant Patil, range forest officer with the Nashik forest department, said, “The team reached the spot as soon as we learned about the incident. The situation was tense for some time, but all efforts were made to initiate search and monitoring operations. The body was found on Wednesday morning.”
{{/usCountry}}Forest officials said surveillance and monitoring efforts have been intensified in the area. Sushant Patil, range forest officer with the Nashik forest department, said, “The team reached the spot as soon as we learned about the incident. The situation was tense for some time, but all efforts were made to initiate search and monitoring operations. The body was found on Wednesday morning.”
{{/usCountry}}“We suspect the leopard involved is a female, and there may be cubs in the vicinity. The search operation is ongoing. Camera traps have been installed last night and three cages are being set up in and around the area,” Patil said. Efforts are also being made to spread awareness among residents, he said.
A pall of gloom has descended on the village with locals demanding urgent, long-term measures to address the growing human-leopard conflict.