Pune: Five-Year-Old Girl Killed In Leopard Attack While Sleeping Outside Farm In Shirur
Pune: Five-Year-Old Girl Killed In Leopard Attack While Sleeping Outside Farm In Shirur
Pune, July 23: A five-year-old girl was killed in a leopard attack in Pune district’s Shirur taluka after the wild animal dragged her away while she was sleeping beside her parents outside a cattle shed in the early hours of Wednesday.
The victim, identified as Bhagyashree Sandeep Ware, belonged to a family of sugarcane harvest workers originally from Ahilyanagar district. The family was temporarily residing at a farm in Pimpalsuti village, where they had been employed for seasonal agricultural work.
According to officials, the incident occurred at around 2:45 am when Bhagyashree was sleeping with her parents outside the cattle shed on the farm. The leopard suddenly attacked the child and dragged her into a nearby field.
Hearing their daughter’s cries, her parents woke up and chased the animal in an attempt to rescue her. However, the leopard managed to flee with the child. A search was launched immediately, and Bhagyashree’s body was later found in the adjoining farmland.
Following the incident, the Forest Department intensified its operations in the area. Officials have installed cages to trap the leopard, deployed camera traps, initiated drone surveillance, and increased night patrolling to monitor the movement of the animal and prevent further attacks.
The tragic incident has once again highlighted growing concerns over increasing human-wildlife conflict in parts of rural Pune, where expanding settlements and agricultural activity frequently overlap with leopard habitats. Forest officials have urged residents to remain vigilant, particularly during the night and early morning hours, while efforts continue to capture the animal responsible for the attack.–
