A 60-year-old woman in Maharashtra’s Beed district was injured after an animal attacked her inside her home in the early hours of Wednesday, triggering panic in Wadzari village under Patoda tehsil. Forest officials, however, said there was no indication that a leopard was involved.
The woman, Prayagabai Kishan Sanap, was asleep when the animal lunged at her around 3 am, biting her hand and leaving her injured, her family said. Alarmed relatives and neighbours rushed to help and moved her to Beed Civil Hospital for treatment.
Local fears of a leopard attack surfaced quickly, but a forest-department team found no evidence to support that suspicion. Patoda Range Forest Officer Ajay Devgude, who inspected the area with his team later in the day, said no leopard pugmarks were found in or around the village.
He suggested the attack may have been carried out by a stray dog rather than a big cat.
"A leopard typically attacks the neck, not the hands or palms," Devgude said, adding the nature of the injury did not match common leopard behaviour.
"We are verifying the circumstances of the attack and checking the area thoroughly," maintained the forest officer.
He advised villagers to remain alert, avoid sleeping in open spaces at night, enhance lighting around their homes, and report any suspicious animal movement immediately to the forest department.