Lure of Money Leads to Rise in Fake Leopard Attack Claims

Fake wildlife attack cases are not new -- attempt to cover up crime and the lure of compensation are prime reasons for fake claims. NR PRAVEEN, Chief conservator of forests, Pune

- Gayatri Vajpeyee

PUNE: When forest officials from Otur range, in Pune district's Junnar taluka, were informed that a sugarcane farm labourer, Kisan Bhor, had suffered injuries from a leopard attack on February 28, they rushed him to a hospital in Narayangaon. News of the attack spread and a large crowd blocked the Pune-Nashik highway, near Otur, for three hours demanding compensation for the injured.

Leopard attacks are not new in the region; in fact, on June 28, 2024, Pune district's disaster management authority declared 233 villages "highly sensitive to leopard attacks" across five tehsils—Junnar, Ambegaon, Daund, Khed and Shirur. Given the frequency of the attacks, the Maharashtra Payment of Compensation for Loss, Injury or Damage Caused by Wild Animals Act, 2023, mandated victims of leopard attacks be compensated up to ₹7.5 lakh for injuries, ₹25 lakh in cases of fatalities and ₹50,000 for crop damage.