Woman mauled to death by leopard in Gujarat's Navsari

Navsari, Oct 15 (PTI) A 24-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard at a village in Gujarat's Navsari district, a forest official said on Sunday.

The incident occurred at Sadakpore village of Chikhli taluka late on Saturday night, he said.

Prima facie, it appeared that the woman was killed by a leopard when she went to attend nature's call last night, range forest officer (RFO), Chikhli, Akash Padshala said.

"The body of the deceased was sent for post-mortem and the police’s help was taken to rule out any foul play," he said.

The forest department has set up cages in the area to trap the leopard, he added.

The victim Chhaya Patel had sustained injuries on her neck and other parts of the body and was killed on the spot, officials said.

When the woman did not return home, her family members and other villagers went looking for her and found her body, they said.

A case of accidental death was registered at Chikhli police station, it was stated.

The incident comes a day after a 55-year-old woman was similarly attacked by a leopard at Wadala village in Talala taluka of Amreli district.

Gujarat has witnessed a rise in the leopard population, with the latest census putting the number of the big cat in the state to 2,274 in 2023, a 63 per cent rise from 1,395 in 2016. PTI COR KA ARU