6-yr-old killed by leopard in Mulund as mother watches

A six-year-old girl was attacked by a leopard and dragged into the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Borivli, on Sunday night even as her mother watched helplessly.

A six-year-old girl was attacked by a leopard and dragged into the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Borivli, on Sunday night even as her mother watched helplessly.

HT Image

Sanjana Thorat was relieving herself near her home at Shankar Tekdi, Mulund (West), around 10pm. Her mother Sangeeta was standing around 10m away from the spot of the attack.

"I suddenly heard my daughter shout out for me. That is when I saw a big leopard grab her by the neck and drag her into the forest," said Sangeeta, adding that she raised an alarm following which her husband Dyaneshwar and neighbours came out with sticks. However, the leopard had disappeared into the forest by that time.

On Monday morning, forest officials and the police searched for the child's body, but only found her severed head, which was sent for post-mortem to Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar.

"We searched for the body 4km inside the park. The entire area falls in the leopard's regular trail," said Sanjiv Pinjarkar, veterinary officer, SGNP.

According to SGNP officials, the hutments in Amar Nagar, Shankar Tekdi are an encroachment on the park's premises.

Also, from Borivli to Mulund, none of the residential areas around SGNP's periphery have a boundary wall.

"Leopards are not usually man-eaters. However, we will patrol the area for a few days," said Sunil Limaye, conservator of forests, SGNP.