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Boy found dead in Shirur in suspected leopard attack
While the villagers suspect a leopard attack, the forest department officials are yet to confirm the same. Local police and forest officials have launched a joint investigation of the incident
In what is another suspected case of leopard attacks, an 11-year-old boy was found dead in a sugarcane field in Dahiwadi village in Shirur tehsil on Saturday, June 22. While the villagers suspect a leopard attack, the forest department officials are yet to confirm the same. Local police and forest officials have launched a joint investigation of the incident.
“We are waiting for the post-mortem report to verify whether the boy died in a leopard attack or otherwise,” said a forest official on condition of anonymity.
The deceased has been identified as Yash Suresh Gaikwad, a resident of the Devmala area of Dahiwadi village. On the evening of the incident, he went to the area behind his house. For a long time, he did not return home, prompting family members to look for him. After some time, other residents from the area also joined them in this search. Later Yash’s body was found near a water stream in a nearby field and reports suggest severe injury marks on his body. After the incident, villagers informed forest officials about the incident.
The villagers suspect that the leopard must be hiding in nearby vegetation and when Yash was attacked, the wild cat might have dragged him to the water body.
Pratap Jagtap, range forest officer for Shirur range said, “After getting information about the incident, we reached the spot and searched for leopard pug marks. As we were unable to get any primary proof, we can’t confirm a leopard attack. Therefore, we need to wait until we get the post-mortem report, which would take around a week time. Meanwhile, we have launched a search operation as per the standard procedure.”
Since the attack can’t be justified prima facie, the authorities are now waiting to get the autopsy report, Jagtap said.
After this incident, the forest department is facing huge pressure from citizens. While one demand is coming out to declare a leopard attack, another demand is for strong action for the prevention of leopard attacks in the village.
