Lure of compensation leads to rise in fake leopard attack claims in Maha

When forest officials from Otur range, in Pune district’s Junnar taluka, were informed that a sugarcane farm labourer, Kisan Bhor, had suffered injuries from a leopard attack on February 28, they rushed him to a hospital in Narayangaon. News of the attack spread and a large crowd blocked the Pune-Nashik highway, near Otur, for three hours demanding compensation for the injured.

Leopard attacks are not new in the region; in fact, on June 28, 2024, Pune district’s disaster management authority declared 233 villages “highly sensitive to leopard attacks” across five tehsils – Junnar, Ambegaon, Daund, Khed and Shirur. Given the frequency of the attacks, the Maharashtra Payment of Compensation for Loss, Injury or Damage Caused by Wild Animals Act, 2023, mandated victims of leopard attacks be compensated up to ₹7.5 lakh for injuries, ₹25 lakh in cases of fatalities and ₹50,000 for crop damage.

While the frequency of attacks leads to impromptu protests, where large crowds outnumber forest officers, the lure of lucre has led villagers to file false claims – Bhor’s case was no different. Assistant conservator of forests (Junnar division) Smita Rajhans said, “Our officers were suspicious from the beginning as Bhor had only a single straight cut on his leg. They took him to the hospital nevertheless following protocol. When officers visited the site of attack, they found no pug marks. On the other hand, when the treating doctor tried to prepare him for a rabies shot, Bhor admitted that his injury was accidental from a scythe.”

On March 5, the forest department declared Bhor’s claim as false and that no compensation would be provided to him.

In less than a year the forest department has registered a sharp rise in false claims of leopard attacks in areas prone to human-animal conflict, said Rajhans, adding while data on the fake cases were yet to be tabulated, at least four such cases surfaced in Junnar taluka last year, following joint investigation between police and forest officers.

On December 8, 2024, when Yawat police in Daund tehsil started probe into the death of a 50-year-old woman based on the family’s claim that she was killed in a leopard attack, it was found that she was murdered by her nephew over a family dispute. Two people were arrested in the case.

In Pimpalwandi village, in Junnar, when a girl studying in 12th grade went missing in April 2024 and villagers claimed she was dragged away by a leopard, forest officials launched a search in a five-acre sugarcane field. Next day, her shoe was found floating in a well following which her body was fished out. Investigation revealed she had died by suicide.

Chief conservator of forests (Pune Circle) NR Praveen told HT, “Fake wildlife attack cases are not new; but there are two reasons for an increase in such claims in recent years across the state -- an attempt to cover up the crime and the lure of compensation, which is significantly higher in Maharashtra compared to other states.” Another official from the department added the number of fake cases scaled up as the amount of compensation was hiked in 2023.

Given this scenario, the department has started investigating the attacks jointly with police. Pankaj Deshmukh, superintendent of police, Pune Rural, said, “Standard operating procedures have been developed by the forest department and police. Cases are being investigated adhering to procedure.”

Assistant conservator of forests (Pune Division) Deepak Pawar added, “Villagers are unaware of the consequences of registering fake cases. We are planning awareness drives among villagers to educate them about the dangers of filing false claims.”