Man’s body found in Jhadol forest

Udaipur: A man's body was found in the forest near Sarna Fala area of Jhadol on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Shankar Kharadi (48). Villagers alleged that the man was killed by a leopard when he had gone to collect leaves from the forest for his goats. Jhadol SHO Ramniwas said whether the man was killed by a leopard or murdered by someone else would be confirmed only after the postmortem report.Police brought the body down the hill, but the villagers prevented them from taking it to the mortuary and protested demanding compensation for victim’s family. Police and officials from the district administration spent two hours negotiating with the villagers, who agreed to let the body be taken for postmortem after assurances of compensation and prompt capture of the leopard. Refuting the claim, deputy conservator of forests (Udaipur) Mukesh Saini, said, “It is suspected that the youth was murdered and investigation is underway. There was a mark of an axe on his body.”