PUNE, 3 NOV.The Pune-Nashik highway was blocked by hundreds of angry local residents after a leopard killed a young boy in the Shirur area of Pune district. The people are demanding a permanent solution to the recurring human-leopard conflict.
The Incident and Public Anger
The protest was sparked by the death of a 13-year-old boy, Rohan Vilas Bombe, who was attacked and killed by a leopard in Pimparkhed village on Sunday afternoon.
This tragic incident was the fifth death caused by a leopard attack in the Pune district this year. It was also the second such death in Pimparkhed village and the third in the general area just this month, fueling extreme anger among the residents.
After the boy's death, angry villagers set fire to a Forest Department vehicle and the office of the department's Rapid Response Force. Police had to be sent to the village to keep the peace and had to divert traffic from the Pune-Nashik highway while the residents held their roadblock.
Demand for Action
The protesters want the authorities to find a lasting solution to the leopard attacks in the Junnar forest division. The area has seen a high number of attacks, with eight deaths reported in the Pune district in 2024 alone. Following previous incidents, the Forest Department had issued a 'red alert' for 13 nearby villages, advising people to avoid going outside before 9:00 AM and after 5:00 PM.
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