The boy, identified as Bhupesh Jadhav, had gone to a nearby farm behind his house in Tejiwadi, Junnar, in the early hours of Wednesday when the incident occurred. He was there to answer nature's call, with his grandfather nearby.
Amol Satpute, Deputy Conservator of Forests for the Junnar range, stated, "It appears the leopard, which came from nearby sugarcane farms, attacked the boy while he was outside and dragged him into the fields. His body was found with grievous injuries to the neck."
Jadhav's parents, who work as brick kiln labourers and hail from Ahmednagar district, are shattered by the incident. Following the attack, authorities have urged villagers and residents of neighbouring areas to remain vigilant, as the leopard is still believed to be in the vicinity.
Panic gripped the district following the attack raising concern among the locals and posing a threat to the people in the area. The forest department team inspected the spot after the incident and said that precautions have been taken after the sighting of leopard came to the fore in the area.
Speaking about the same, a forest department official said to ANI, "Today morning, we received information about a leopard attack in Pune. The Forest Department team visited the district to inspect. The officer said, It's a very sensitive matter, and people are scared, so we are here to meet the residents as well, and we are telling them how to coordinate in such circumstances," .
The Forest Range officer also said, "We will try to track the movement of the leopard by using trap cameras, or we may set up trap cages. In CCTV videos, we saw the movement of a leopard. We have advised the people to be alert and always go outside in groups."
(ANI)
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