THANE: A 35-year-old woman, who had gone inside Tansa wildlife sanctuary in Thane district for farming, was killed after being attacked by a leopard on Wednesday. The same leopard is feared to have killed two animals in the same area near Mauli village in Shahapur taluka the next day.
This is the second human being to have fallen prey to leopards in the past 10 days. On July 16, a seven-year-old girl, Sanjana Thorat, was eaten up by a leopard when she, accompanied by her mother and grandmother, had stepped out of her home in Mulund to relieve herself.
On Wednesday, Durga Ghatal, her husband Dattu (38), son Mohadu and daughter Bharti entered the Tansa sanctuary illegally to tend to agricultural land, around 1 km from Mauli village, where they stayed. Around 3pm, a tired Durga decided to take a break and sat down in a shed put up for farmers to take rest. Suddenly, a 4-ft leopard crept in, pounced on her and dragged her towards the forest, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, witnesses said. Alarmed by her cries, Durga's family and other relatives chased the leopard with sticks. Pursued, the leopard dropped Durga on the ground and fled. A relative, Chandar Gond, said, "As soon as we heard her scream, we ran to spot to find a big leopard dragging Durga towards the forest. We managed to rescue her."
The victim's family took Durga to nearby Shahapur Gramin Hospital but, seeing her critical condition, the doctors referred her to Thane civil hospital. By the time they reached the Thane hospital, it was evening and the doctors declared her brought dead. "Durga died due to delay in treatment," Gond said. According to residents of the area, even two months ago, another woman at Chandoti village in the same taluka was also attacked by a leopard. She could be rescued.
J J Kamble, conservator of Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary blamed the leopard attack on villagers encroaching on forest areas where they enter to farm. According to him, they had put up boards outside the premises, warning people not to go in, but residents did not pay heed. He, however, assured that they would increase the patrolling of the area to avoid a repetition of such an incident. Dharma Mara, president of Van Hak Committee that fights for villagers' rights, however, tried to defend the residents: "The villagers have been farming inside forests since decades. They do not have any other source of income and so, they have to enter the sanctuary."
This is the second human being to have fallen prey to leopards in the past 10 days. On July 16, a seven-year-old girl, Sanjana Thorat, was eaten up by a leopard when she, accompanied by her mother and grandmother, had stepped out of her home in Mulund to relieve herself.
On Wednesday, Durga Ghatal, her husband Dattu (38), son Mohadu and daughter Bharti entered the Tansa sanctuary illegally to tend to agricultural land, around 1 km from Mauli village, where they stayed. Around 3pm, a tired Durga decided to take a break and sat down in a shed put up for farmers to take rest. Suddenly, a 4-ft leopard crept in, pounced on her and dragged her towards the forest, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, witnesses said. Alarmed by her cries, Durga's family and other relatives chased the leopard with sticks. Pursued, the leopard dropped Durga on the ground and fled. A relative, Chandar Gond, said, "As soon as we heard her scream, we ran to spot to find a big leopard dragging Durga towards the forest. We managed to rescue her."
The victim's family took Durga to nearby Shahapur Gramin Hospital but, seeing her critical condition, the doctors referred her to Thane civil hospital. By the time they reached the Thane hospital, it was evening and the doctors declared her brought dead. "Durga died due to delay in treatment," Gond said. According to residents of the area, even two months ago, another woman at Chandoti village in the same taluka was also attacked by a leopard. She could be rescued.
J J Kamble, conservator of Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary blamed the leopard attack on villagers encroaching on forest areas where they enter to farm. According to him, they had put up boards outside the premises, warning people not to go in, but residents did not pay heed. He, however, assured that they would increase the patrolling of the area to avoid a repetition of such an incident. Dharma Mara, president of Van Hak Committee that fights for villagers' rights, however, tried to defend the residents: "The villagers have been farming inside forests since decades. They do not have any other source of income and so, they have to enter the sanctuary."
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