Maharashtra: 3-year-old girl dies in leopard attack in Ahmednagar district

PIMPRI CHINCHWAD: A three-year-old girl died of injuries suffered in a leopard attack in Shrirampur taluka of Ahmednagar district on Friday night.
The girl, Dnyaneshwari Markad, was playing in the courtyard of her house in Galnimb village when the leopard pounced on her and dragged her for 20-40 feet.
“This occurred around 7.30pm. When her parents and relatives raised an alarm and gave chase, the leopard abandoned the girl and fled,” Adarsh Reddy, deputy conservator of forests, Ahmednagar, said.
“Dnyaneshwari was playing in the courtyard, while her grandmother and siblings were sitting on a nearby platform,” Kopargaon range forest officer Santosh Jadhav said.
“The house is surrounded by neem and tamarind trees. Suddenly, a leopard pounced on the girl and dragged her. Her cries alerted the grandmother and siblings, who cried for help. Her father, mother, uncle and others rushed out of the house and chased the animal. The leopard fled into the nearby sugar cane field,” Jadhav said.
The girl was rushed to a rural hospital for treatment, but she died on the way. Her last rites were performed on Saturday afternoon.
“Galnimb is located along Pravara river. Sugar cane and other crops are grown on well-irrigated fields. Sugar cane fields provide ideal cover to leopards,” Jadhav said.