Leopard Kills 5-Year-Old Child After Dragging Her Into Forest; Victim's Half-Eaten Body Found

A 5-year-old girl in India was mauled to death by a leopard, local media reported Saturday.

The incident took place in the northern city of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. The victim, identified only by her first name Priyanka, was outside her home near a forest area when the leopard attacked her, Shimla divisional forest officer (wildlife) Krishan Kumar told media outlet NDTV. Initially, her family did not know she had been attacked by a leopard.

"I was cooking rice around 8:30 pm last night when my granddaughter Priyanka went out to urinate. I heard the sound of a bucket falling and thought that she had slipped and rushed out. While I was looking for her, someone shouted that Priyanka is screaming in the jungle," the grandmother of the deceased minor girl told Tribune India.

The police and the forest department were informed about the incident, and a search was conducted. During the search, some blood spots and the girl's clothes were found near her home. The following day, the police found the girl's severed head near a drain. The skull was taken by a forensic team to establish whether it belonged to her or not. Later, the girl's partially-eaten body was found in the forest.

The victim's body parts were sent for an autopsy, the police said. According to local media, people in the area are in a state of panic and fear following the incident.

Cameras have been set up at four-five points by the wildlife wing of the state’s forest department to track the movement of the leopard responsible for the attack. Locals claimed the leopard had cubs, and officials wanted to confirm this with the use of the CCTV cameras, The Times of India reported.

"People should contact the wildlife department at its toll-free helpline number 1800-419-4575 as and when they see a leopard or any other dangerous wild animal," the divisional forest officer was quoted as saying.

Last month in the state of Uttar Pradesh, a leopard mauled and ate a 6-year-old girl near a forest area. The child was playing outside her home when the big cat dragged her away. Her severed head was discovered in the forest area, but the rest of her body was not found.