Elderly woman killed in leopard attack in Palghar; villagers threaten protest

Palghar: A 65-year-old woman was killed after a leopard attacked her in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred in Mategaon village under the Dahanu forest division on Sunday evening. Angry villagers threatened to stage a protest if the big cat is not captured soon.

The leopard suddenly pounced on Tulsi Rama Sawar, an agricultural labourer from Sarshi village in the Vikramgad taluka, and grabbed her by the neck. The woman died on the spot, Vangaon’s assistant police inspector Tushar Pachpute said.

Locals rushed to the spot on hearing the commotion, but the animal fled into a nearby forest in the darkness.

The body was sent to a government hospital for postmortem, and the police registered a case of accidental death, the official said.

Angry villagers and farmers have threatened to march to the district collectorate if camera traps and cages are not installed immediately to capture the leopard.