India’s most wanted leopard killed

Nashik: India’s most wanted man-eater leopard, which had killed seven persons and scores of cattle, was finally gunned down by Hyderabad-based sharpshooter Navab Shafatali Khan in Jalgaon district on Saturday night. Even though hundreds of hunters were baying for its blood, Khan’s bullet claimed it in Varkheda village of Chalisgaon tehsil of Jalgaon district at 10.15pm, according to sources.

The state government had mobilised the largest operation in modern India for this leopard, which had claimed many lives, both human and cattle in the Nashik and

Jalgaon districts. In Varkheda village alone, it had killed three persons. The leopard was finally shot dead on the road between Pimpalvad Mhasla and Varkheda village while hiding in a bush. This paper had earlier reported that over 22 sharpshooters from the forest department, the police as well as specialists from Hyderabad had been roped in to kill the beast.

Khan, his son Asgar Ali, D.G. Pawar, along with Aurangabad’s sharpshooters Dr Sahad Naqshbandi, Dr Saud Naqshbandi, MLA Unmesh Patil, forest officials T. N. Salunkhe, Adarsh Kumar Reddy and others were present on site when the leopard was shot. It was prowling in Sakur village in Nashik and had crossed into Jalgaon after the dragnet was laid. The animal had managed to elude all traps for five months.

About 10 teams had been formed by the wildlife department and 10 machans had been built in a 10,000 acre area.

Each of the sharpshooters led their teams in monitoring the leopard’s pugmarks. Khan’s team waited for a split second to confirm whether it was the same leopard and then fired.

The forest department will be preparing a report in which it will present its analysis on why the leopard turned into a man-eater. According to a forest officer, big cats in the wild become man-eaters when they do not have the strength to hunt prey.