Pune: Daylight Leopard Attack Sparks Panic in Otur; Farm Labourer Injured, Forest Officials Launch Rapid Response
Junnar, 18th November 2025: Panic swept through Domewadi near Otur after a farm labourer survived a shocking daylight leopard attack, deepening fears in a region already grappling with frequent human–wildlife confrontations. The incident, which unfolded around 10 a.m., has renewed demands for urgent safety measures for villagers working in open fields.
The injured labourer has been identified as Gorakh Punaji Shelkande (38), a resident of Walhivare–Sawarne in Murbad taluka. Shelkande had been working at the farm of Dnyaneshwar Dhomse when he momentarily stepped aside toward the field bund to relieve himself. It was then that a leopard, believed to be hiding silently in nearby vegetation, lunged at him without warning.
In a desperate struggle, Shelkande pushed the animal away and managed to run for safety. He sustained claw injuries to his hand but escaped what could have been a fatal encounter.
Farm owner Dhomse immediately alerted the Otur Forest Department. Under the supervision of Forest Range Officer Chaitanya Kamble, a team of forest guards, Vishwanath Bele, Kishan Kharode, Kisan Kedar, and Fulchand Khandagale, rushed to the location, inspected the site, and advised residents on precautions in leopard-active zones.
The injured labourer was shifted to the Otur Primary Health Centre, where he received medical treatment along with an anti-leopard precautionary vaccine.
With villagers deeply unsettled, demands have intensified for the installation of a trap cage to prevent additional attacks. The incident underscores the escalating human–wildlife conflict in the Junnar region, where farm workers now step into their fields with heightened fear and caution.
