Leopard that killed seven persons shot dead

Nashik: A leopard which had killed seven persons, including children and a woman, in the last one month, has been shot dead, a forest department official said today. The big cat was gunned down by a shooter near village Varkhede under Chalisgaon taluka of the adjoining Jalgaon district late last night, Chief Range Forest Officer Rama Rao said today.

He said the state forest department had roped in three shooters from New Delhi and Hyderabad to locate and kill the wild animal. The department had also kept ten cages in and around Varkhede to trap the leopard, he said.

The wild cat was spotted at around 11.30 pm near the village and one of the shooters, Nawab Malik from Hyderabad, opened fire, killing the leopard, Rao said. According to the forest department officials, the leopard had killed seven persons, including children and a woman, in and around Varkhede, which borders Nashik district, in the last one month.

Its last victim was a six-year-old boy, Kunal Prakash Ahire, who was dragged out of his home by the wild cat and killed on December 7, they said. After the spate of killings, the department ordered shooting of the wild animal, the officials said.