Later, Bavane’s body was found 500 meters from the house, the official said. (Representative)
Chandrapur, Maharashtra:
An eight-year-old boy was killed by a leopard in Durgapur area of Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. A senior official of the Forest Department gave this information on Thursday.
He said the boy, identified as Prateek Bavane, had come to his grandmother’s house in Durgapur after the death of his grandfather.
The boy, whose parents live in Bhadravati town of the district, was playing outside the house when a leopard suddenly appeared from the nearby bushes, pounced on him and dragged him away on Wednesday evening, the official said.
He said that as soon as he shouted for help, neighbors and relatives started looking for him and immediately informed the forest department.
Later, Bavane’s body was found 500 meters from the house, the official said.
Angry citizens raised slogans against the forest department and the local administration, leading to tension in the area.
On Thursday, local NCP leader Nitin Bhatarkar created a ruckus at the Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) office located near the site of the leopard attack and demanded that the bushes in the area be cleared.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)