NASHIK: A four-year-old was killed in a leopard attack in the old Dhagur area, Dindori, on Sunday evening. The labourer was working on the field when the leopard attacked her daughter and dragged her to a nearby field on Sunday evening around 7:00 p.m. The girl’s body was recovered on Monday morning around 10:00 a.m. in the nearby sugarcane field. The incident has instilled fear among the residents.
The labourers are from Gujarat, residing in a labour shed in Vilas Balasaheb Mali’s field (farmer in Old Dhagur Area). A labourer’s daughter, Kritika Wad (resident of Wadholi, Sutarpada), was playing in a soyabean field when the leopard attacked her and dragged her away. The incident happened in front of the girl’s mother.
Listening to the mother’s screams, the labourers and villagers gathered at the spot. On receiving the information, the forest department reached the spot and started searching for the girl. However, they couldn’t find her as it was already night time and the darkness hampered their search. The next morning, by tracing the leopard’s footstep, the department recovered the girl’s body from the sugarcane field.
The Forest Department sent the body to District Civil Hospital for autopsy and set up cages in the area to trap the leopard. This is the second incident of a leopard attack in the area in a week. The residents have demanded immediate action to curb leopard attacks. Pooja Joshi, Forest Officer, Dindori Forest Reserve and Nashik Forest Department jointly launched a search operation for the girl.
