Search operation launched after leopard kills 4-year-old in Alegaon

A Junnar forest department official said that a compensation cheque of ₹10 lakh has been given to the victim’s family on Tuesday

Pune: The death of a four-year-old boy in a leopard attack in Alegaon village of Junnar tehsil has prompted the forest department to launch a search operation to trap the animal.

At least 50 forest guards are deployed to patrol, and camera traps as well as other cages, have been set in the related area. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

A Junnar forest department official said that a compensation cheque of ₹10 lakh has been given to the victim’s family on Tuesday.

Shivansh Amol Bhujbal, a four-year-old boy from Alegaon village in Junnar tehsil, was playing alone near his house when a leopard came from a nearby sugarcane field and took away the boy at around 4:30 pm on Monday. His grandfather who was working nearby shouted for help and, along with other villagers, chased the leopard who dropped the child and disappeared into the field. The boy succumbed to critical injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Vaibhav Kakde, range forest officer, Junnar division said, “In the hospital, a post-mortem was carried out on the boy.”

At least 50 forest guards are deployed to patrol, and camera traps as well as other cages, have been set in the related area. A thermal drone surveillance is conducted during the night, said Kakde.

Although it was the first leopard attack in Ale village, several such cases have been reported from nearby villages in Junnar tehsil in the past, a forest official said.