He said the girl was physically challenged. She was staying in a shanty and was not able to move without help. Her mother used to visit her once a week. Her grandfather and uncle used to take care of her. “There was no proper door to her shanty. It was covered only with a plastic sheet. The animal(s) might have entered the shanty and attacked the girl, who was not able to move or resist,” he said. Waghmode said the police registered a case of accidental death. “Our investigations are on,” Waghmode said. Assistant conservator of forest (Junnar division) Smita Rajhans told TOI, “Our team visited the spot and collected the swab samples near the wounds. These samples were sent to a lab in Nagpur for examination.” An officer from the forest department said , prima facie, the girl was not attacked by a leopard. “Our team did not find any traces of a leopard in or around the shanty. We are waiting for the forensic report,” the officer said.(With inputs from Alim Shaikh)
