Pune: A man killing a leopard that had instilled an atmosphere of terror in the Shirur, Khed, and Ambegaon Tehsils of Pune District was caught on Tuesday morning after a successful trap laid by officials of the Maharashtra Forest Department. The leopard, allegedly involved in over three fatal incidents in the past 20 days, had created chaos in the northeastern part of the district. Protesters went on the streets on Monday and staged a rasta roko protest on Pune Nashik Highway near Manchar for this leopard to be caught.
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According to information given by officials of the Forest Department, over 10 cages were set and traps were laid in areas where a leopard was sighted in the last week. A leopard was caught on Monday morning in Pimparkhed village of Shirur Taluka, and the leopard is aggressive. However, it's yet to be confirmed if it's the same leopard that killed three in the last 20 days.
On Monday, the local villagers went full aggressive as the protests were conducted in various parts of the three tehsils for over a 16-hour period. However, district administration and forest department officials managed to calm the situation, and after a day, the menace which had been going on for the last days ended.
A political clash had erupted in multiple villages of Shirur and Ambegaon Tehsils, where the opposition took a very bold stance against the administration. The opposition parties, along with people, spoke to the administration by raising slogans in the Monday protest, saying, “Decide whether you want to protect leopards or humans.”
A meeting will be held by Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik soon regarding the demands by the people of the district regarding the leopards. The villagers have threatened to boycott these meetings and any dialogue until Naik and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar (also the Guardian Minister of the district) visit the spot personally.
The demands include:
- Any leopard known to kill or attack humans is to be shot on sight.
- Instant sterilisation of leopards to control their growing population
- Preventive measures and an action plan to avoid human-leopard conflicts in the region.
- If it's proven that the caught leopard has killed human beings, kill it too.
- Make a safe environment for the villagers of the leopard-affected areas as soon as possible.
