Mumbai: Forest guard's dead body found floating in Tulsi lake at SGNP

Swastik Katkar

The body of a young forest guard named Swastik Baban Katkar, 30, who worked at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, was found floating in Tulsi lake in the core forest area of the park on Thursday. While a message had gone viral on Thursday saying the guard was killed by a leopard, an official from SGNP said it does not appear so. The exact reason for the death will be known after the post mortem report is out.

On Thursday at around 8.30 am forest workers spotted a body that was floating in the water. Officers headed by Range Forest Officer Shailesh Deore then rushed to the spot. The Mulund police were informed and they arrived with Fire Brigade officials.
Asked whether it was death due to leopard attack, Deora said, "To me it does not appear to be a death due to man animal conflict. The post mortem report will give the exact cause of the death."

Investigation Officer Chetan Bagul from Mulund Police station said, "The body of a forest guard named Swastik Katkar was found floating in Tulsi lake inside SGNP on Thursday morning. The investigation is going on and once his relatives come the post mortem will be conducted at Rajawadi hospital." Sources said Katkar was going to get married in May.

Rajawadi Hospital's forensic department officials have initially ruled out a leopard attack as they haven't found severe injury marks. A message said to be from Mulund police, on a group of crime reporters on WhatsApp claimed that Katkar and his friends forest guards Pundalik Salve, Harshal Sathe, and 4-5 others were partying on the banks of Tulsi lake. He drowned while swimming in it.

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