Boy mauled to death by leopard, girl injured

A seven-year-old boy was killed and another minor girl injured in separate leopard attacks at two villages of the district.
The boy, Mehul Bamaniya, was mauled to death by the leopard in Alindra village when he was sleeping along with his parents in a bamboo hut at around 1.30 AM on Saturday, R B Chauhan, Range Forest Officer (RFO), posted at Kanjar village of Dhanora taluka in Dahod district, told PTI on phone today.
The boy, who was profusely bleeding and sustained deep wounds on his neck and face, was rushed to a hospital at Dhanora where doctors declared him dead, Chauhan said, adding that a post-mortem was later conducted.

Family members of the deceased will get compensation as per government norms, he said.
A case under section 174 of CrPC (pertaining to death caused by an animal) has been registered, Dhanora police station's assistant sub-inspector M B Bhuriya said.
In another incident, an 8-year-old girl was injured when a leopard attacked her while she was sleeping at her uncle's home in Palam village of the district in the wee hours today, Chauhan said.

The forest team rushed to the spot and took the girl to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, he said.
"Since the summer season is on, the forest and police teams have asked all villagers to stay alert, particularly while sleeping outside their houses or in the fields. We have asked villagers to light a camp fire close to where they sleep," he said.

Meanwhile, residents of Alindra village asked the forest officials to catch the leopard on the prowl at the earliest.
A senior forest official said that drying up water sources in summer season and human intrusion in animal habitats were the main reasons for the increasing man-animal conflicts in the area.