Leopard Shot After Tragic 8-hour Drama
Leopard shot after tragic 8-hr drama
Two bullets at point-blank range brought to an end the battle between a township on the edge and a big cat that strayed in and didn’t know how to escape.
A quiet town near Pune turned into a battlefield between man and animal as a leopard that had unfortunately strayed in, sparked off panic and attacked several people before being killed by two bullets from a cop's service revolver.
It was just another lazy Sunday afternoon for the 60,000 residents of Karad town, about 160 km from Pune. Until someone spotted “something that looked like a leopard” perched on a tin roof of a house in a dusty bylane that houses the city post office area in Somwar Peth around 1 pm.
“I wasn’t sure if I had seen right. I thought it could be a cat or a dog,” said a villager, gesticulating animatedly at how all hell broke loose after the young male leopard was discovered. A few locals were sounded off and word spread like wild fire.
“I thought they were joking about a leopard in our town,” local businessman Ashok Apte. “There was pandemonium like we've never witnessed before,” said a woman from the town.
By now, the petrified animal had slid into an empty house. “A few people hurled stones inside and the leopard came out and started attacking anyone who came before him,” said resident Vasant Devdige. The animal leapt out of its hideout, growling wildly. “It was scared out of its wits due to the din and chaos around.”
At the sight of the animal, the people who had gathered around scurried to safety.
Cornered and confused, the leopard went on an attacking spree, targeting whoever came its way. Six villagers became the target of its fury. Sachin Mane (29), Hanumant Mane (42), Rahul Jirange (29), Riyaz Mulla (29), Sachin Kamble (25) and Sanjay Mali (30) escaped with injuries on their face, neck and shoulders.
The police had been informed by now and initially, the cops fired two rounds in the air to scare the leopard.
“When this did not help, they used sticks and stones to attack the leopard,” said another villager who watched the drama that lasted for a little over 30 minutes. “That’s when the animal pounced on Hanumant Mane, who was just stepping out of a beer bar, pinning him down at a street corner.”
It was then that API Vikas Dhas rushed in and shot the leopard at close range with his service revolver.
The leopard's carcass was shifted to the local veterinary hospital where a post-mortem took place late in the afternoon. As the crowds surged to take a peek at the dead animal, the police had to resort to a mild lathicharge.
Karad forest range officer N A Patil said efforts should have been made to save the wild cat. But Karad residents claim they had informed forest officers but no one turned up to their aid. Patil said an inquiry will be conducted into the incident based on eye witness accounts.
Wildlife biologist Vidya Athreya said, “If a leopard strays into human territory its first instinct is to find a place to hide. However, what happens usually is that a mob gathers around the animal and attacks it. This provokes the animal, which attacks in self-defense.”
• I love animals and didn’t want to kill the leopard. But I had to choose between saving the life of the man or the animal
- API Vikas Dhas, who shot the leopard
• Caught in a state of shock and fright, the leopard was only trying to escape and attacked anyone who came in its way
- Raju Sanadi, photojournalist
Anatomy of the kill
• I had no choice- API Vikas Dhas
“I got to the spot around 12.45 after a few locals alerted us. Pockets of people had gathered around a run-down house. Within moments, I saw the leopard pounce on a youth and grab him.
Two constables dealt lathi blows to it. Instantly, it began running ahead and suddenly jumped on another man (who was coming out of a beer bar), due to which the man fell down.
The leopard was on his chest as I closed in on the scene. I again wielded my lathi, but it growled at me once and grabbed the victim’s neck. That's when I whipped out my service revolver and shot the leopard close to its chest. The only thought that crossed my mind as I pointed my gun at it was to save that man. I didn’t want to kill the leopard.”
• Mob was pelting stones- Raju Sanadi
“According to locals, the leopard strayed into town early on Sunday morning, around 4am. A 10-year-old child spotted it around 11.30am and within an hour, a mob gathered outside the house. I got to the spot around 12.30 pm and from that point on, was within 50 metres of the leopard.
I managed to capture only one frame of Dhas shooting the animal. While saving that man’s life was essential, I think Dhas should not have killed the leopard.
Caught in a state of shock and fright, the leopard was only trying to escape and attacked those who came in its way. Had it wanted to kill, it would have done so.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/...8hr-drama.html
