Villagers set forest dept vehicle on fire after leopard attack on minor

Pune: A 13-year-old boy was killed by a leopard in a village in Shirur tehsil of Pune district on Sunday, marking the third case of human-animal conflict in a month, triggering an angry response from locals who set a patrolling van of the forest department on fire.

“The big cat attacked and killed Rohan Bombe in Pimparkhed village when he was playing near the farms,” said a forest official from Junnar Forest Division.

This is the third such incident in the last month.

After the incident, angry locals set a patrolling van of the forest department on fire and demonstrated outside its base camp against the recurring incidents of leopard-human conflicts in the area, officials said.

According to the Wildlife Institute of India, the Junnar forest division in Pune has 6 to 7 leopards for every 100 sq km.

The abundant water supply, growing human population engaged in agriculture, and the rising number of domestic animals created a conducive environment for leopards to inhabit these farmlands.