| Font Size |
The incident occurred when Kakudi Gavit left her house around 6 in the morning to answer nature's call in the nearby bushes. The big cat, which was lying in wait of a prey, pounced on her, catching her by the throat and dragged her into the forest. The woman tried to stave off the attack but failed, and started shouting for help.
Hearing her cries, her family members who were asleep immediately came out in search of her, but could not find her. A villager later found her body in the Reserve Forest compartment 151 in the afternoon. He informed the relatives of Kakudi and also the forest department officials.
Forest officer C K Sonavne along with his staff immediately rushed to the spot with the Vaghai police officials. The police took charge of the body and sent it to the Government Hospital for post mortem. They said there were deep injury marks on her throat.
Sonavne said they have now started night patrolling in the areas where the panther has been spotted in the past. “We have provided tranquilliser guns to our staff to immobilise the animal wherever it is found. We have also taken help from veterinary doctors. Even cages are being installed at suspected places to catch the panther,” he said.
Dangs District Panchayat president Ramji Gavit said this was the eighth such attack in the past three months. “We will not tolerate such attacks anymore. Six people have died in the attacks and two have been severely injured. Of the six, two were minors and four women. The forest officials have not caught a single panther in these three months. We have also made representations to the District Forest Officer and had requested them to catch the man eater or we will start an agitation now,” he said.
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
|
|