Residents furious as incident occurred after forest officials removed cages meant to trap wild beasts
Residents furious as incident occurred after forest officials removed cages meant to trap wild beasts
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| Mauled to death: The police inspect the body of the dead man in Karad. Pic/Raju Sanadi |
Residents of Karad are furious after a 55-year-old cattle raiser died in a midnight attack by a wild animal in Vakhan area that lies to the north of the city. This is the second case of an attack by a wild animal in Karad, which is some 160 km from Pune, in a month.
Residents allege that despite their opposition, the Forest Department removed the cages kept to trap leopards and other wild beasts a day prior to the Tuesday night attack.
On January 9, a leopard attacked five people in the city before it was finally killed by API Dhar.
In the latest incident, cattle raiser Pandit Makdum (55) was found dead. Five sheep were also killed by the wild
animal.
Sources said after Makdum's death, residents even went to Karad city police station to request action against the forest officials who decided to remove the cages.
Last morning, farm owner Shivaji Ghodake saw Makdum lying still with his head down and found five sheep from his shed had been killed.
When MiD DAY contacted Ghodake, he said, "I was informed by Pandit Makdum's wife that he did not return home. When I went and checked on the farm, I found Pandit was lying still. I called him, but realised that he was not showing any sign of life. I saw three sheep lying on the roads and two more in the shed. All five sheep were dead."
Ghodake, who also owns a country liquor shop in Karad, informed his brother, who then informed the Karad police.
"Some local residents came to the police station and they seemed upset," said Police Inspector Muralidhar Muluk. "They claimed that the Forest Department had removed the cage installed in Vakhan area and said the incident of Tuesday night was a result of that."
The officer added that Makdum's body was sent for post-mortem and later handed over to his family.
"The doctors have preserved his viscera. There were two injury marks on his body, one near the nose and the other on his right hand," said Muluk. "According to the post-mortem report, the incident might have taken place after midnight. We believe that Makdum was attacked by a wild animal."
When MiD DAY contacted Assistant Forest Conservator B K Padwal, he said, "Prima facie, it does not look like a leopard attack. It could be a fox or a hyena. We have collected the samples and will be able to comment only after verifying it."
