Farmer mauled to death by leopard in Beed district

Beed, Oct 13 (PTI) A 36-year-old farmer was mauled to death by a leopard in a village in Maharashtra's Beed district, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred in the Bavi-Darewadi area in Ashti tehsil on Sunday when the victim had taken his cattle for grazing, they said.

Rajendra Vishwanath Golhar, a resident of Bavi village, had gone to his farm to graze his cattle in the morning and failed to return home, an official said.

Suspecting a leopard attack, villagers alerted the forest department and local authorities, and a search operation was launched, he said.

Golhar's half-eaten body was found in the fields, confirming that he was attacked by a leopard, range forest officer Amol Munde said, adding that the post-mortem report is awaited.

The police and forest authorities have urged residents to avoid venturing out alone after dark and have initiated steps to increase patrolling and awareness campaigns across nearly 15 surrounding villages. PTI COR ARU