11-month-old boy allegedly dies in leopard attack in Daund

PUNE: Anvit Bhise – the 11-month-old baby boy of a shepherd family temporarily residing at a farm in Dahithane village of Daund tehsil in Pune – died in a leopard attack, the family has claimed. According to Anvit’s mother, she saw the leopard dragging her child early in the morning on April 30 however forest officials suspect this may be a fake claim as no traces of a leopard attack were found long hours into the search operation.

Deepak Pawar, assistant conservator of forests, Pune forest department, said, “There is an area of around 700 to 800 hectares under open farming where the incident is said to have occurred. The shepherd family was sleeping in the open field when the leopard allegedly dragged the baby boy. The mother claimed that she saw the leopard dragging her child. Accordingly, we have launched an investigation in this area. Around 100 people have been deployed since the morning as part of this search operation. A canine squad and thermal drones too have been deployed but we haven’t found a single trace of the leopard attack, yet. Hence, it is difficult for us to confirm the attack. The investigation is still underway and our staff is searching the village.”

Even before the investigation began, there was an argument between the forest officials and villagers with the latter claiming that the department neglected their demands for installation of trap cages which led to the loss of a life in the village.

Pawar said, “Although there were repeated calls about leopard sightings in various areas of Daund, there was no single complaint that we received from Dahithane village. On demand by the deputy Sarpanch of the village, we installed a cage in the village in the area where today’s incident occurred.”

“Currently, two camera traps and two cages have been installed even as the thermal drone survey will be conducted late into the night. We have also advised the baby’s family to report a missing case with the police,” said Pawar.

Aditya Paranjape, honorary wildlife warden, Pune district, said, “The incident is said to have occurred at about 5 am on April 30. We have carried out multiple searches in the said area. However, there is no conclusive evidence to point to the leopard attack. Neither have we recovered the body of the deceased. Hence, as of now, we are unable to confirm the leopard attack. Now that trap cameras have been placed and the thermal drone survey will also be conducted at night, we are hoping to get some lead on the issue.”

Leopard attack or another fake case?

A senior official from the forest department told Hindustan Times that the family’s claim of a leopard attack has not yet been confirmed and that they suspect this may be a false claim. Daund tehsil has a history of fake leopard attack claims. In March this year, the Daund police had busted one such claim wherein a woman, 50, was said to have died due to a leopard attack while working on a farm in December 2024. It was later revealed that the woman had been murdered by her own nephew and fake leopard attack claims were made only to get the compensation amount from the forest department. There have been fake claims not only in Daund but also Junnar and other tehsils of Pune district. “Although we are not sure that the latest case is one more instance of a fake claim, the possibility cannot be ruled out,” said a forest official on condition of anonymity.

Search for elusive leopard continues at Pune Airport

Forty-eight hours after a leopard was seen at Pune Airport in Lohegaon, authorities have failed to capture the wild animal. The leopard in question was sighted just 200 metres away from the runway, and search operations have been launched every since by the authorities including the forest department, Air Force staff, and RESQ Charitable Trust. Mahadev Mohite, deputy conservator of forests, Pune forest department, said, “The search for the leopard has been further intensified. As of now, trap cameras have been installed at nine different locations, and one more trap cage has been added, taking the total number of trap cages to three. Importantly, a leopard was seen in the trap cameras yesterday, confirming its presence in the area. The forest department and RESQ NGO teams are jointly continuing the search operation on a round-the-clock basis to ensure timely and safe capture of the animal.” The leopard is said to have come from the nearby forest area and is very comfortable in its new surroundings.