Pune: A seven-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack around 10.30pm on Friday in Mandovgan Pharata village of Shirur taluka . The minor, Vansh Rajkumar Singh, was following his parents out of their makeshift shed home near a sugarcane field when the animal grabbed him by his neck and dragged him into the field.
The forest department , following the attack, set up 12 trap cages and around six trap cameras, along with drone surveillance, to catch the leopard. According to sources, the family of four — Vansh, his parents, and his sister — are from Delhi and have settled in Shirur for the last four months. The parents work in a jaggery factory as labourers.
The mother, after a dispute with her husband, stepped out of the shed home. She was followed by the children and husband. The animal, who was nearby, attacked Vansh and dragged him away.
"Vansh's father alerted others and tried to follow the animal. However, they could not track it due to water in the field. We received a call shortly and reached the spot within 20 minutes.
We conducted a search operation and found the boy's body abandoned about 100m into the field," said Vishal Chavan, forest guard. "He was heavily wounded in his neck. The leopard's teeth had sunk deep into his legs and arms, too, which ultimately led to his death," Chavan said.
The forest department has stationed 10 rescue professionals throughout the day and six at night to capture the animal and conduct awareness drives in the region. "We have not.