Pune: Fear refused to leave the residents of Pimparkhed in Shirur tehsil even after the forest department put down the leopard which killed 13-year-old Rohan Vilas Bombe on Sunday.Forest officials said that the leopard they killed on Tuesday night was the same one that took the boy’s life. Their conclusion is based on matching the pugmarks and forensic samples collected from the site.Villagers said they need concrete evidence linking the dead animal to the teen. Their anxiety deepened after another fully grown female feline was trapped on Wednesday night, barely half a km from the spot where Rohan was attacked.His grieving father Vilas told TOI, “The attack will remain with me forever. So, even after killing a leopard, I don’t believe that the fear has vanished in the village. What about the other leopards?”Sarpanch Narendra Dhome said some normalcy has returned as the school saw students on Wednesday. “But nearly half of them stayed at home. People are afraid to step out or work in their farms. Another attack is possible. Forest officials must present solid proof that the leopard they killed was responsible for Rohan’s death. Only then will people regain confidence and normal life resume.”Over the last 12 hours, villagers claim to have spotted leopards at six different locations, spread across a three-to-four-kilometre radius from the attack site. “The capture of another leopard proves that there could be more in the area,” deputy sarpanch Vikas Ware said.Ware wanted the forest department to continue trapping and combing operations. “We need scientific evidence. Their words alone don’t count.”But the unusually high number of leopards in and around Piparkhed has made the situation complex. “A total of eight leopards have been trapped in Pimparkhed and surrounding villages within a fortnight. It is unprecedented,” an officer from the Junnar forest division said.Pimparkhed, located about 90km from Pune, is a small agrarian settlement surrounded by vast sugarcane fields and dotted with water bodies.These dense crops provide ideal cover for leopards to move and breed. The abundance of stray dogs and livestock in the area has also ensured an easy food source for the big cats.Forest officials said leopards have marked their territories in the 10 surrounding villages in the last five years and have adapted well to this semi-rural landscape which has plenty of prey and cover. The heavy presence of forest teams, cages and shooters have not laid to rest residents’ fears. “No one dares to walk alone even duirng daytime. We lived peacefully with these animals before, but now they seem to have lost their fear of humans,” Kamlesh Dhome, a local said.The forest department has set up cages and is conducting night patrols in Pimparkhed and the neighbouring villages. Their operations would not be scaled down till potentially dangerous animals are captured or relocated.The district authorities have urged villagers to follow safety instructions. “We are working with the forest department to ensure their safety,” a senior district official said.But locals have seen too many leopards to feel safe. “Only when we are sure that the threat is over can we sleep peacefully,” Rajesh Bombe, Rohan’s cousin said.
