‘Pounced from behind, dragged away’: 20-year-old woman out to cut grass killed by leopard in Maharashtra

NASHIK: A 20-year-old woman was killed in a leopard attack in Vanarwadi village of Dindori taluka on Friday evening. The victim, identified as Payal Rajendra Chavan, was cutting grass in a field near her house around 6.30 pm when the leopard pounced on her from behind and dragged her several metres away.
Hearing her screams, family members rushed to the spot, forcing the leopard to drop her and flee into nearby fields. Payal was rushed to the Rural Hospital in Dindori, but forest officials confirmed she succumbed to severe injuries and heavy blood loss.
Senior forest department officials visited the spot and stepped up monitoring by installing additional cages and cameras. Officials said the area, rich in farms and water bodies, has frequent leopard movement. A camera and cage had already been installed about 500 metres from the attack site prior to the incident.
In August last year, a 15-year-old cattle grazer was also killed in a leopard attack in the same village.