Nuapada: A minor boy was reportedly killed by a leopard in a village in Odisha’s Nuapada district on Monday.
According to sources, Dambaru Majhi, the 7-year-old son of Human Majhi of Goudhaspada in Katingpani village under Dharambandha police station in the district was playing in front of his house in the evening.
A leopard came to the spot, grabbed Dambaru in its mouth and took him away into the forest close to the village. Some villagers, who saw the incident, raised a hue and cry. But the wild cat vanished into the forest.
Soon after, Dambaru’s family members and the villagers armed with sticks, torch and farm equipment went to the forest in search of him. After searching for a long time, they found the boy lying under a huge stone. He had injury marls on his face and neck.
The villagers rushed Dambaru to the district headquarters hospital at Nuapada. But the doctors declared him brought dead. On being informed, police went to the hospital and sent the body for post-mortem.
The villagers said they had spotted two leopards moving in the periphery of the forest a few days back. Though leopards have been found in Nuapada forest range earlier, it is for the first time that the wild cats intruded into Dharambandha area, the sources said.
