Kolhapur: A two-year-old boy from Nhalewadi village in Satara district died after a leopard attacked him on Saturday night.
A cheque of Rs 10 lakh as compensation was handed over to Sandip Khandagale by the MP. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolhapur | Silver Rate in Kolhapur | Bank Holidays in Kolhapur | Public Holidays in Kolhapur Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news.
His father, Sandip, said he returned from work in the evening and did some chores in the cattle shed before lying down. He told me he wanted to urinate, so I took him outside. There was no sound after that,” Sandip said. “The animal fled into the fields when a torchlight fell on it,” he said. The villagers told Satara MP Udayanraje Bhonsale that for the last couple of weeks the power supply had been cut off at any time of the day and night. Nilesh Tambe, police inspector of Satara taluka police station, said the forest department has started searching for the leopard and it will soon be caged. Also the officials who ignored the villagers will have to face action,” said Bhonsale.
The deceased, Jay Sandip Khandagale, was found in a dried-up stream passing through sugarcane fields — about half a kilometre from the house where he lived with his parents. “Jay was playing with me. Around 7pm, the power supply was cut. We then came back inside. A few moments later, he went out again. I heard him scream twice while I was trying to find him. Sandip and several neighbours searched for his son Jay with torches, following blood marks and finding him in a canal beside a leopard. “There had been rumours of leopard sightings for three months, but the forest department had taken no action. Uninterrupted power supply could have prevented the leopard from approaching my doorstep,” he added. “No amount is enough to compensate for the loss of a human being. I have asked the district collector to convene a meeting of all departments from forest to police and Mahavitaran to find a solution. TOI tried to reach out to the forest officials, but the authorities were not available for comment. Download the TOI App.
Jay was rushed to Satara civil hospital where he was declared dead.