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A day after an eight-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack in Junnar taluka—the third fatal attack on a child—the Forest Department on Tuesday evening captured a leopard at the same spot in Mangrul Pargaon village. Samples collected from the boy’s wounds and from the captured leopard have been sent for DNA analysis to confirm whether it was responsible for the attack.
The Junnar Forest Division has seen a sharp rise in human–leopard conflict in recent weeks, with three people — including two children — getting killed between October 12 and November 1 and several more injured in leopard attacks. Rohit Babu Kapare (8) was killed by a leopard in Mangrul Pargaon village of Junnar taluka on Monday morning around 11.30 am.
In the two villages Pimparkhed and Jambut of Shirur taluka three tragic deaths occurred due to leopard attacks between October 12 and November 1. Shivanya Bombe (5) on October 12, Bhagubai Jadhav (70) on October 22 and Rohan Bombe (13) on November 1 lost their lives. These incidents triggered massive public outrage. The Mangrul Pargaon village in Junnar where the Monday morning attack took place is just six kilometers away from Pimparkhed village in Shirur which witnessed deaths of two children in October-November.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, after reviewing the state’s escalating human–leopard conflict in a meeting with top officials on November 18 directed that a proposal to declare the crisis a state disaster be placed before the Cabinet. He has also sought a proposal to shift the leopard from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act. The CM has also directed setting up two more rescue centres for leopards in Pune district.