Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live

FOREST DEPT. CAPTURE LEOPARD THAT KILLED BABY

- HT Correspond­ent

MUMBAI: The three-year-old leopard believed to have killed a 16-month-old toddler near Dairy Unit No. 15 on Diwali morning has been captured by the forest department.

The child, Itika Lot, was picked up by a leopard (officially known as C-55) a stone’s throw from her doorstep at 5:45am. Her mother, Bharati, had left the front door open as she went out to light a diya in a temple located a few feet away from their home to commemorat­e the first day of Diwali, when Itika followed her out.

Aarey Colony’s Dairy Unit No. 15, where the family lives, borders the recently notified forest area of Aarey, now under the administra­tive control of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Following the attack on Monday, the forest department officials immediatel­y took steps to identify the problem animal, especially after two incidents of leopards mock charging at people were reported late Monday evening.

Though officials initially said that they suspected a young female to have carried out the attack, G Malikarjun­a, park director, SGNP told Hindustan Times on Thursday, “After surveying the area, we narrowed in on two male leopards, C-55 and C-56.

“C-55 was captured in the early hours of Wednesday and is currently under observatio­n at our rescue centre in SGNP. We are continuing to monitor its sibling C-56 in the field. A total of 30 camera traps have been activated around Aarey to keep an eye on leopard movements.”

Earlier this month, a fouryear-old boy named Himanshu Yadav from Aarey Colony’s Charandevp­ada was attacked by a leopard near Adarsh Nagar while he was on his way to a Navratri celebratio­n with his father. Though he suffered claw injuries, he survived the attack.

Earlier this year, a leopard (C-32) was identified as being responsibl­e for a spate of nine leopard attacks in Aarey Colony within a single month and was captured by forest officials.

Shiv Sena MLA, Ravindra Waikar, from the Jogeshwari (East) visited Aarey Colony’s Unit No 15 on Monday afternoon.

 ?? HT PHOTO ?? 16-month-old Itika
HT PHOTO 16-month-old Itika

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India