Leopard kills villager in Paoni tehsil

Bhandara: A villager who had gone to collect mahua flowers in protected forest area early on Wednesday morning was killed by a leopard. Budhham Pralhad Thavare, 55, a resident of Gudhegav in Paoni tehsil, had entered the forest compartment No. 238. While he was busy collecting mahua flowers, a leopard attacked him from behind and dragged his body to a distance.
As Budhham did not return home till afternoon, his wife started looking for him in the forest and found the body lying in a pool of blood.She immediately raised an alarm and narrated the matter to the villagers and forest officials. Foresters along with villagers reached the spot and found the body which was badly mauled by the leopard. After completing legal formalities, police sent the body for post mortem.
RFO of Gudhegav, DN Barai, said that the department has given Rs 25,000 as immediate relief to the family of the deceased and remaining amount of Rs 7.75 lakh will be given in a day or two. He also said that the villagers had been warned several times not to enter the forest alone.