10-year-old boy killed by leopard near Suhelwa Wildlife Santuary

Balrampur, Nov 24 (PTI) A 10-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack near the Suhelwa Wildlife Santuary in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district, police said on Thursday.

Sandeep had gone out of the house in Majhgawan village late on Wednesday evening to attend to nature's call. The leopard, which was sitting behind a tree, attacked him and started to drag him to the nearby sugarcane field, it said.

Hearing his cries, his grandmother came out and raised an alarm. The leopard went into the forest and left the child, who had died by then.

District Magistrate Mahendra Kumar said instructions had been given to capture the leopard and send it to the zoo.

Public awareness campaigns will be started in the villages that are adjacent to the forest, Kumar said.

Divisional Forest Officer M Sem Maran has appealed to the villagers not to let their children go out alone at night and keep areas around their houses lighted at night.

The DFO said drone cameras would be installed in the villages, which are situated on the edge of the forest, to search for leopard. PTI COR SAB HMB