Leopard kills 8-year-old child in Gir West, two others injured

A tragic incident has occurred in Datrana village of Mendarda taluka in Junagadh district, where an 8-year-old innocent child was killed in a leopard attack. The incident took place on November 8, 2026, around 7:30 pm on the evening of Diwali. Deevraj, the son of a family that had come from Madhya Pradesh for agricultural labour, was going to fetch water from an orchard outside the village when a leopard suddenly attacked him.

According to a report by Sandesh, the leopard pounced on the child. As per a report by DeshGujarat, the child's father chased the leopard in an attempt to save his son, but he was unable to do so. The leopard dragged the child approximately 100 feet away into a pit, where the child died on the spot due to severe injuries to the throat. This tragic event has cast a pall of gloom over the family amidst the Diwali festivities and created an atmosphere of fear and anger throughout the region.

After the village Sarpanch Rakesh Gohel reported the incident, Forest Department staff reached the spot within 10 to 15 minutes. The child's body was recovered and moved to a government hospital. According to H.D. Galchar, the Range Forest Officer (RFO) of Dedakadi Range, the body was handed over to the family after the post-mortem process was completed.

During the search for the body, the leopard appeared again and injured two other pedestrians while fleeing. According to DeshGujarat, the leopard collided with a motorcycle on the road, causing the couple riding it to crash, resulting in the woman being seriously injured. According to Sandesh, another driver was seriously injured and has been admitted to Synergy Hospital in Rajkot.

To capture the leopard, the Forest Department summoned a doctor from the Animal Care Centre in Simada, who attempted to track and tranquilize the leopard using footprints, but the attempt failed. Subsequently, the Forest Department has placed 6 to 8 cages at the site to capture the animal. Commando staff and veterinary teams from Dedakadi, Devadiya, Maliya, Sasan, and Visavadar ranges have been deployed for this operation. Forest Department staff remained stationed throughout the night, conducting a search operation.

Local residents and the Sarpanch stated that leopard menace has increased in the area, making it difficult for farmers to enter fields and for labourers to go to work. Sarpanch Rakesh Gohel mentioned that leopards are entering residential areas due to the cutting of trees in forests. He has demanded a comprehensive plan from the government to control the increasing leopard population and appealed to the Forest Department to carry out more plantation.

The administrative machinery has initiated the process to pay ₹10 lakh compensation to the family of the deceased child as per rules. Dissatisfaction regarding the Forest Department's functioning was observed among the villagers.