Woman Trapped In Cage Meant For Leopard Gets Rescued

Pamaniben Chaudhary, a 70-year-old woman from the western state of Gujarat in India, was trapped in a cage meant to capture leopards on the night of Dec. 27, and was rescued on the morning of Dec. 28.

Pamaniben, a resident of a Bhanawadi village of Tapi district, had gone to see a doctor in a private clinic along with her son-in-law Devsingh Chaudhary. After visiting the clinic, Devsingh went to attend some chore related to the clinic visit, and left the woman behind. Fearing she would be administered an injection by the doctor, Pamaniben fled the clinic on her own. Devsingh could not find her when he returned, Indian daily the Indian Express reported.

Pamaniben started walking toward her home in Bhanavadi village but it was late at night and she thought of resting in the cage that she spotted kept in Lotarva village, on her way home. So she went inside the cage, but was unable to open its door the next morning.

Her nephew Suresh told the Indian Express, “She told us that she fled from the clinic, fearing that the doctor would give her injection because of her knee pain. By the time, she was returning home, it was late. On the way, she spotted the cage and decided to spend the night inside it. But, in the morning, she could not open the door of the cage and remained trapped.”

It was close to midnight when she got trapped in the cage, and it being dark and cold, none of the villagers noticed her at the time. But in the morning, they noticed some movement in the cage, and on checking it, found the woman trapped inside it.

According to the Times Of India, M.K. Damor, Tapi district collector said, “We are aware about the incident. It occurred at around 11 p.m. and therefore no one noticed her. However she survived the ordeal and is now okay.”

The villagers then informed the village head Pritesh Gambit about the incident. Gambit immediately rushed to the spot and with the help of villagers opened the cage and rescued the woman. The Forest Department was informed later about the incident. Following the incident, the Forest Department kept the cage farther away from the village.

Divisional Forest Officer Anand Kumar said, “We have received an information of a leopard being seen at Lotarva village, so we had kept the cage there 15 days ago. We have shifted the cage now to the interiors.”

The woman was sent to a hospital because she was suffering from fever. The forest department had caught one leopard in the area recently and had heard reports of one more leopard roaming in the vicinity.