Pune: Leopard Snatches 11-Month-Old Boy from Mother’s Side in Daund’s Dahitane Village
Rahu, 30th April 2025: In a tragic and alarming incident early Wednesday morning, an 11-month-old boy named Anvid Bhise was dragged away by a leopard while sleeping beside his mother in Dahitane village of Daund taluka, Pune district. The attack occurred near a sugarcane field, where the predator swiftly disappeared with the infant before anyone could intervene.
The Bhise family’s livestock was grazing in the field owned by a local farmer, Rambhau Gaikwad. According to initial reports, the mother had just fed Anvid and left him asleep to prepare a meal for Akshaya Tritiya when the leopard struck. Nearby shepherds and the mother tried to drive the animal away with loud cries, but the leopard vanished into the dense sugarcane crops.
Following the incident, a coordinated search operation was launched by district forest officials. Assistant Forest Officer Deepak Pawar, Daund Forest Range Officer Rahul Kale, Police Inspector Narayan Deshmukh, along with a rescue team and sniffer dogs, have been scouring the area. However, thick vegetation has made the search effort extremely challenging. As of late afternoon, there has been no trace of the missing child.
Forest officials have assured that efforts to locate both the child and the leopard are ongoing and will continue without pause. “We are doing everything possible,” said one of the officers on site.
The devastated family is pleading for urgent help. “Please do anything, but bring back our child,” a relative said in tears.
The incident has triggered outrage in the local community. Residents of the Rahu Bet region—which lies between the Mula-Mutha and Bhima rivers—allege that repeated warnings about leopard sightings were ignored by the forest department. Villagers have threatened large-scale protests if immediate steps are not taken to trap the leopard and prevent further attacks.
