Leopard kills two in Veraval

11-02-2010
Leopard kills two in Veraval
Times of India
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For some strange reason, leopards are on the rampage in Saurashtra and south Gujarat. Two women were killed by a leopard in Veraval taluka of Junagadh district on Tuesday night. Though this was the first incident of its kind, the cats have been frequenting villages and towns as well as terrorising people quite frequently this month leaving forest department officials in a tizzy.

Meanwhile, the back-to-back incidents in Veraval taluka have triggered panic among farm workers. The two deaths occurred in Iswariya village in a span of eight hours. "Both women, hailing from Nandurbar in Maharashtra, were brought on contract to work in sugarcane fields. They were sleeping in makeshift shanties,"said deputy conservator of forests (Junagadh division), Anita Karne.

At 9.30 pm, the leopard attacked Bhanu Pandvi, 35, and dragged her away. People ran after the animal, confronted it and pulled away her body. They rushed her to a hospital where she was declared dead. The animal fled in the meantime.

Even as forest officials rushed to the site, around 4 am news of the second attack came from a nearby area, where 42-year-old Savitaben was the victim. The woman's mutilated body was found in a sugarcane field.

"The forest department has paid Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the next of kin," Karne said. Admitting that this was a rare incident where a leopard has attacked adult humans on purpose, without any confrontation, Karne asserted that the leopard was not a man-eater.

"We come across such attacks on domestic animals often," she said, adding that five cages have been put up in the area and patrolling has been beefed up.
CATFIGHT Man-leopard conflict on the rise in state
Feb 10 | Leopard attacks sleeping devotee in Girnar foothills of Junagadh
Feb 9 | Leopard enters home in Khambha taluka of Amreli, captured
Feb 9 | Leopard enters home in Vaghmara village in Songadh taluka of Tapi, man injured Feb 7 | Leopard caught in snare near Nana Khokhara forest in Bhavnagar
Feb 5 | Leopard found dead in Pardi taluka of Surendranagar, poaching suspected