A five-year-old boy died hours after he was attacked by a leopard at Bharan village in Bharuch district of Gujarat on Saturday, a forest official said.
The victim, Kishan Valvi, died at a hospital at Kim in Surat district where he was admitted after suffering grievous injuries in the leopard attack, Bhavna Desai, assistant conservator of forest, Bharuch, said.
“The minor was attacked by the leopard when he was playing in a sugar cane field at Bharan village in Ankleshwar taluka around 8.30 a.m.. His parents were working as labourers at the farm when the incident occurred,” Ms. Desai said.
“He was rushed to the hospital in Kim, where he died during treatment,” she said. Following the incident, cages were set up in the affected area to trap the wild animal.
This comes a day after a five-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in a similar attack at Patal village in Surat district. Gujarat has witnessed a surge in incidents of leopard attacks. As per the government data, 14 people were killed while 71 others were injured in 80 attacks by leopards in Junagadh and Amreli districts in the last two years.