A 43-year-old farm worker was killed in a leopard attack at Shivde village in Sinnar taluka of Nashik district on Sunday morning, triggering panic among villagers. The leopard involved in the attack also died after remaining trapped for several hours in an open well, forest officials said.
Leopard attacks farm worker during field work
The deceased has been identified as Gorakh Laxman Jadhav, a resident of Savata Malinagar. He was working in a field owned by Ganpat Amruta Chavan, watering a wheat crop on Sunday morning.
According to forest department officials, Jadhav had paused for breakfast under a mango tree near an open well around 10 am when a leopard, believed to have been hiding in nearby vegetation, suddenly attacked him from behind, grabbing his neck.
Hearing his screams, workers from neighbouring fields rushed to the spot. During the struggle, both Jadhav and the leopard fell into a brick-lined well that did not have a protective parapet.
Victim dies, rescue operation delayed
Officials said Jadhav died due to severe injuries sustained during the attack and the fall. The leopard, however, initially survived and remained stranded inside the well, which had about six feet of water.
Female labourers alerted villagers, and a large crowd soon gathered at the site. Forest department teams reached the spot and lowered a cage into the well to capture the animal after it reportedly climbed onto the foundation of an electric pump inside.
The rescue operation, however, was delayed for nearly five hours as local residents opposed lifting the cage until the leopard was fully neutralised. The forest department later sought assistance from Sinnar police to control the crowd and continue the operation.
Leopard also dies inside well
An expert swimmer, Govind Tupe, was called to retrieve Jadhav’s body from the well. Medical examination revealed multiple injuries on the victim’s body.
Meanwhile, the leopard died after remaining trapped for several hours. Officials said the rescue cage repeatedly slipped back into the well, eventually leading to the animal drowning. The cage was finally removed at around 4.30 pm.
The leopard’s post-mortem was conducted later in the night, after which the animal was cremated by forest officials.
Compensation and preventive measures
A case has been registered at the Sinnar police station. Assistant Conservator of Forests Kalpana Waghmare described the incident as extremely unfortunate and said the victim’s family would be compensated as per government norms.
She added that leopard capture measures have been intensified in Shivde, Konambe and Pandhurli areas. “Two cages have already been installed, and more will be added if required,” she said.