Lucknow: An eight-year-old boy was killed in a suspected leopard attack in Bahraich on Monday evening, taking the reported death toll from leopard attacks in the district this year to 10.The victim, Rohit Yadav, was standing behind his house in Manjhra village under the Murtiha range of Katarniaghat Wildlife Division when the animal reportedly emerged from a nearby sugarcane field and attacked him.Hearing his screams, family members and villagers rushed to the spot with sticks and lathis, but the child had died by the time they reached him. The animal fled into the sugarcane field.While some villagers claimed a tiger was responsible, forest officials said preliminary evidence points to a leopard. DFO, Katarniaghat, Apoorv Dixit said the pattern of injuries and impressions found in adjoining fields suggested a leopard attack.“Our teams are on the ground and are working to trace the animal,” Dixit said, adding that forest staff were examining the area to establish the animal’s movement and identity.Forest department officials said around a dozen leopards have recently been rescued from human habitations in the area.Murtiha Kotwali SHO Yatindra Singh said a post-mortem would be conducted. Forest teams continued combing operations to track the animal and appealed to residents living near forests and sugarcane fields to remain vigilant
