Leopard Drags, Kills 5-Year-Old Child Sleeping Next To Father In Courtyard

In a horrific incident, a leopard in India attacked and killed a 5-year-old girl who was sleeping next to her father in the courtyard of their home.

According to media reports, the attack took place in the western state of Rajasthan. The leopard sneaked inside the house Sunday night and dragged the child out to a hillock less than a mile away from the home, the Times Now quoted authorities as saying. The girl's father chased the animal but failed to catch up.

The child was identified by only her first name Lalita. Her body was found at the hillock by villagers the next day, who raised an alarm and informed the authorities. A team of forest department officials and local police arrived at the scene Monday morning.

The girl's body was retrieved from the spot and then sent for an autopsy. Locals were enraged by the incident and told the media this was the third such attack recently. They protested and demanded officials capture the animal at the earliest, Hindustan Times reported.

Mukesh Saini, deputy forest conservator of the area, said three cages were set up to catch the leopard responsible for the death.

Just days ago, a leopard had killed a middle-aged woman when she was returning home in the same area. The woman had gone to a nearby forest to collect dry grass when the attack took place. It remains unclear if the same leopard was responsible for both the deaths.

Last month, a 3-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a leopard while she was playing on a farm. The incident took place in Gujarat's Junagadh district. The child's body was found at a distance from where she was last seen. Local authorities said the child's parents were cutting sugarcane when the leopard attacked the girl. The parents were unable to save the child. The leopard mauled the girl and then dragged her body to some distance before leaving it there. The victim was later identified by police as Namrata Vasave.