Gujarat: 5-yr-old boy dies in leopard attack in Bharuch
Forest department officials said the incident took place in Bharan village in Ankleshwar taluka on Friday morning, when farm labourers were harvesting sugarcane in the fields, on the outskirts of the village.
A leopard that came out of the fields caught the boy by his throat and dragged him into the surgarcane thicket. (Express file photo) 
A leopard that came out of the fields caught the boy by his throat and dragged him into the surgarcane thicket. (Express file photo)
Two days after a four-year-old girl died following leopard attack in Surat district, the big cat killed a five-year-old boy in Ankle-shwar taluka of Bharuch district on Saturday. Forest officials of Bharuch claimed it was the first such incident in the district.
Forest department officials said the incident took place in Bharan village in Ankleshwar taluka on Friday morning, when farm labourers were harvesting sugarcane in the fields, on the outskirts of the village.
According to sources, Pintu Valvi, his wife and 5-year-old son Kishan, were among the labourers who came to Ankleshwar taluka in Bharuch district from Nandurbar district in Maharas-htra to work in the agricultural fields over the past few days.
On Friday morning, Pintu and his wife were busy in the field while their son Kishan was playing alone nearby. A leopard that came out of the fields caught the boy by his throat and dragged him into the surgarcane thicket.
Hearing Kishan’s cries, his parents chased the animal, shouting for help when the animal left the child and escaped. Kishan was bleeding from his throat and was rushed to a private hospital in Kosamba village. He was later shifted to New Civil Hospital in Surat, where he was declared dead. Forest officials who reached the spot in Bharan village found pug marks of the leopard and bloodstains. They installed two cages in the fields to catch the leopard.
RB Patel, assistant conservator of forests, Bharuch, said, “This is the first such incident of leopard attack in our district. The standing crop of sugarcane is a safe hideout for the leopard. The family members of the deceased will get a compensation amount of Rs 4 lakh. We have also alerted the farm labourers not to be careless and leave their children alone while working. We have also asked them to be careful while staying in tents in agricultural fields.”
On Wednesday, the 4-year-old girl daughter of a farm labourer working in the fields in Patal village in Mandvi taluka of Surat district was attacked by a leopard and she died in hospital on Thursday.
Addressing media persons on Saturday, State Forest Minister Ganpat Vasava said, “We have called a high-level meeting of the forest department officials on Monday, at Gandhinagar, to discuss leopard attacks. If needed, we will take decision to kill the man-eater leopard. Forest department has deployed teams to identify the leopard in Mandvi taluka of Surat district. We have also asked the villagers and farm labourers not to dispose of left-over food in open spaces.”
Ganpat Vasava added,”As per the 2016 census, the population of leopards has doubled than the population of lions in the state. At present, there are 1,400 leopards in the state. Till now, Valsad circle forest department has caught 10 leopards, while Surat circle has caught 25 and Saurashtra 60.”
Share
