A five-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard at Basantpur village in Chamoli district, police said today.
According to police, Ayush was playing in the courtyard of his home last evening, while his mother was nearby when the leopard pounced on him and dragged him away.
The boy's mother ran after the leopard raising an alarm. The villagers launched a search and and an hour later found the mutilated body of the boy lying about 100 metres from the village, they said.
The forest department has issued orders to kill the leopard which had reportedly attacked another child in the same area recently, they said.
