Leopard mauls six-year-old boy to death in Pune village

Six-year-old boy was killed in leopard attack at Thakarwadi area in Kumshet village in Junnar tehsil of Pune district on Wednesday

Pune: A six-year-old boy, Siddharth Pravin Kedari, was killed in a leopard attack at Thakarwadi area in Kumshet village in Junnar tehsil of Pune district on Wednesday.

Six-year-old boy was killed in leopard attack at Thakarwadi area in Kumshet village in Junnar tehsil of Pune district on Wednesday. Forest department has set up 10 cages and 5 camera traps (below) around the incident site, and a thermal drone survey is being carried out, said officials. (HT)

This is the second confirmed human death due to a leopard attack under the jurisdiction of the Junnar forest department this year, since April. Earlier, Laxmibai Bhoite, an 82-year-old woman, died in a leopard attack in Shirur tehsil on April 25.

According to forest officials, Kedari was studying in the verandah of his house when a leopard entered around 7 pm and dragged him away. When his parents checked on him, the boy was missing. They then searched nearby houses, but couldn’t find him anywhere. After searching further, they found a pen lying on the ground and blood stains in nearby areas. The family members, along with neighbors, searched further in the area and found a partially eaten body lying around 100 metres away from the house.

Kedari’s family, who work as daily wagers, live in a hamlet where several other families also reside.

Prashant Khade, deputy conservator of forest, Junnar division, said, “The department is taking several steps to capture the leopard as well as to create awareness among villagers. We have set up 10 cages and 5 camera traps around the incident site, and a thermal drone survey is also being carried out. Two base camps of the rapid response team have been activated, and all members are engaged in patrolling. Alongside, we are interacting with villagers to spread safety guidelines and raise awareness among residents.”

A sterilization project for leopards has been proposed to control the rising population of leopards, but it is still under evaluation by the Wildlife Institute of India and the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.

Meanwhile, there is a growing demand from locals to capture leopards straying into human settlements. However, the rehabilitation centre at Manikdoh, which houses rescued leopards, has already exceeded its capacity. Although plans were announced earlier to expand the facility, no concrete update has been provided by the forest department so far.