Barely five days after a 16-month-old girl, Etika Lot, was mauled to death by a leopard in Aarey, the Forest Department handed over a compensation cheque of R10 lakh to her family. MLA Ravindra Waikar, who was present at Aarey, also instructed the forest department to speed up the process to capture the leopard, and said that they would consider fencing homes in the area.

The MLA, along with Range Forest Officer Rakesh Bhoir, from the Mumbai Range of Thane Forest Department (Territorial), and Round Officer Narayan Mane visited the deceased’s parents, Akhilesh and Bharti Lot, on Saturday, and handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to them. Another Rs 10 lakh will be deposited in Akhilesh’s bank account as Fixed Deposit.