Tarikere MLA G.H. Srinivas hands over a cheque of ₹20 lakh to Basavaraj, who lost his daughter in a leopard attack, on November 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A family from Kammatgiri in Hungund taluk of Bagalkot district in Karnataka, who had travelled over 350 kilometres seeking employment, has been left devastated by a tragedy that occurred in Tarikere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district on November 20.
Five-year-old Sanvi was playing in front of the shed in an arecanut farm at Mudre village around 6 p.m. when a leopard attacked and carried her away. Her father, Basavaraj, who witnessed the harrowing moment, tried to chase the animal and save his daughter, but failed. The animal disappeared, leaving the parents anguished and helpless.
Later, Sanvi’s body was found about a kilometre away from the shed. The Biruru police and officials of Tarikere Range of the forest had joined the efforts to search for the baby.
Basavaraj and his wife Renuka had come to Mundre village to look after an arecanut farm owned by Ramachandrappa, who resides in Bengaluru. The owner had provided the family with a shed for their stay. The farm is located near Navilugudda, where the movement of leopards had been reported by locals. Their shed neither has a compound wall nor a fence, leaving it vulnerable to wild animals.
Tarikere MLA G.H. Srinivas and senior officers of the Forest Department met the family. They offered their condolences and handed over a cheque of ₹20 lakh. Later, they made arrangements to carry the body to their native place in Bagalkot for the final rites, after the post-mortem.
B.M. Ravindra Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests of Bhadravathi division, told The Hindu that they have initiated a combing operation to trace the animal, guided by its pug marks. Besides that, cages had been placed in the locality to capture the animal. “This is the first incident where a leopard killed a human being. We are taking measures to capture the animal,” the officer said.
Published – November 21, 2025 01:09 pm IST
