Lioness kills 7-year-old son of migrant labourer in Amreli

Rajkot: Seven-year-old son of a migrant agricultural labourer was mauled to death by a lion in Ghantiyan village of Bagasara taluka in Amreli district on Thursday night, triggering outrage among villagers and an all-night protest against the forest department.The victim was identified as Nanu Ram Dinesh Mankar. His family hails from Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh. They have been coming to Amreli during the agricultural season for the past 15 years to work as farm labourers.According to forest officials, the incident occurred around 8pm when the child went to attend to nature’s call. He was attacked by a sub-adult ( 3 to 4 years old) lion that was moving with a lioness in the area.

The animal dragged the boy nearly one kilometre into a nearby reserved forest area.Assistant conservator of forest (social forestry), Rajan Jadav, said, "As soon as we learnt about the incident, the entire forest team rushed to the area and began a search operation.”Sources said the child’s body was located around 9pm. However, by then, nearly 400 to 500 villagers and residents from nearby areas had gathered at the spot and launched a protest.

The agitated crowd initially refused to accept the body and accused the forest department of failing to protect residents from frequent wildlife threats.Villagers claimed they live under constant fear of attacks by lions and other wild animals. They demanded the relocation of lions, leopards, wild boars and nilgai from the region. They sought the intervention of senior forest officials as well as the state environment and forest Minister to address their concerns.The situation remained tense throughout the night. The Deputy Conservator of Forest also intervened, and after prolonged discussions with villagers, the family accepted the body at around 4 am on Friday.Forest officials later captured the lioness and two cubs suspected to be involved in the fatal attack.Jadav said both farm owners and labourers were aware of the presence of lions in the area. He pointed out that open defecation continues to increase the risk of wildlife encounters.“We have repeatedly informed residents that people sitting in isolated positions in open areas are more vulnerable to attacks by wild animals. However, many farms do not have toilet facilities, forcing labourers to defecate in the open despite the regular movement of lions and other wildlife in the area,” he said.Ghantiyan village is situated on the border between Bagasara and Visavadar talukas, an area known for frequent lion movement from the Gir landscape.