Overview

• Fifteen-year-old Shivani Kevat was seized by a crocodile on Sept. 15 while filling water pots on the Parvati River near Mehatabpura village in Baran district.
• Villagers rushed to the bank, shouted to drive the reptile off, and launched boats, but she disappeared before police-arranged searches were suspended for the night.
• Her body was found floating the next morning, Sept. 16, and retrieved after bystanders alerted authorities.
• An autopsy determined the cause of death was drowning, with only deep grip wounds noted by police consistent with the crocodile’s hold.
• The death has renewed community demands for preventive measures such as clear warning signage, with concerns heightened during the monsoon when crocodiles move closer to settlements.