India, March 6 -- 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 Cause...