Leopard mauls six-year-old boy to death in Kullu’s Anni

The child, a resident of Kathala village of Anni subdivision in Kullu, was playing in the courtyard of his house around 8 pm when the leopard attacked and dragged him away

A leopard mauled to death a six-year-old boy in Kathala village of Anni subdivision in Kullu district on Monday night.

A Leopard maulled a six-year-old boy to death in Kullu’s Anni. (HT File)

The deceased, who has been identified as Ronit, was playing in the courtyard of his house around 8 pm when the leopard attacked and dragged him away.

His parents were busy in the kitchen, located a few metres away from the house. They came to know that the boy was missing after they called the children to have their dinner and raised an alarm.

Divisional forest officer (DFO) Chaman Lal said the villagers immediately launched a search operation and also found the boy’s pyjamas nearby. However, they failed to trace the missing kid. The search operation resumed on Tuesday morning and body parts of the victim were found about 600 metres away from the house, the DFO said.

He said that the forest department has provided an immediate relief of ₹50,000 to the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, panic gripped the area after the attack even as people have been advised to avoid walking alone at night and also not to leave their children alone.