Maharashtra: Leopard caught in Talegaon, swab collected to find if it killed boy

A ten-year-old male leopard was trapped and captured by a rescue team in Maharashtra's Talegaon town.

Nashik: A ten-year-old male leopard was trapped and captured by a rescue team in Maharashtra’s Talegaon town.

Forest officials and the rescue team rushed to the spot after complaints from locals that the big cat had been sighted in the Igatpuri village.

The swab sample of the leopard will be collected and matched with that of a six-year-old deceased child to ascertain if he was killed by the big cat a few days ago.

“We received information about a leopard sighted in Talegaon, Igatpuri. We rushed a rescue team that reached the spot and trapped the leopard. The leopard’s swab will be collected and matched with the swab of the 6-year-old child who died (from a suspected leopard attack) on December 24,” Ketan Birari, Range Forest Officer (RFO) Nashik, said.

The swab results will confirm if the same leopard was behind the child’s killing. A compensation of Rs 20 lakh has been announced for the family of the deceased child.

“The leopard is a 10-year-old male. Its swab sample will be sent to the laboratory of the Wildlife Institute of India. The deceased child’s family will receive Rs 20 lakh as compensation this week,” the RFO, Nashik added.

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