A stray leopard ran amok in a crowded locality in Nashik on Friday morning, injuring four persons, including two media persons and a Shiv Sena corporator, before being caught by forest authorities.
The beast was trapped after three hours, during which time it lashed out and injured Sena corporator Santosh Gaikwad, local journalist Kapil Bhaskar, a camera person with a vernacular news channel Tabrez Shaikh, and forest authority Uttam Patil.
Mr. Bhaskar suffered injuries on his head, while others sustained minor cuts after the animal attacked them. All four were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where they are undergoing treatment. All injured are said to be out of danger.
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The incident occurred in the city’s upscale residential area in Gangapur Road area. Crowds gathered to witness the efforts of the authorities as the leopard kept hopping from the balconies of posh bungalows.
“Two tranquilizer darts were fired and the beast was neutralised. We then took the animal in a forest department van,” said forest department official Ravindra Sonar.
This is the second such incident to take place in the district in less than a fortnight. On January 15, two persons, including a policeman, were mauled by a leopard after it entered a house in the tribal-dominated Kalwan taluka.
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Maharashtra has witnessed an alarming rise in the number of leopard deaths since 2018, with wildlife activists and forest authorities estimating more than 30 deaths in the State since January last year.
In November last year, in two incidents, a six-year-old male leopard was found dead in a forest near Alandi, near Pune city, while a two-year-old leopard was knocked down by a speeding vehicle in Ahmednagar.
In February last year, the bodies of three leopards were discovered in Bhor in Pune under “unnatural circumstances”. The police said the animals had died because of poisoning.