Bahraich: A six-year-old girl was snatched from her mother’s lap by a leopard and fatally mauled in a sugarcane field in Bahraich’s Bhuda Baragadaha village on Thursday evening. The animal fled after around 12 villagers rushed to the spot with sticks in response to the mother’s screams, but the child succumbed to her injuries on the way to the hospital.The incident has triggered panic and anger among villagers, who alleged that the forest department failed to act despite repeated leopard sightings in the area.The incident took place in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Division area under Sujauli police station limits. The victim was sitting in her mother’s lap outside their house when the leopard suddenly emerged from a sugarcane field near the Saryu canal and attacked her.The animal grabbed the child by the neck and dragged her into the field. Hearing her daughter’s screams, the woman raised an alarm, prompting around 12 villagers to rush to the spot with sticks. The leopard fled, leaving the child behind. However, she had sustained severe neck injuries, with the attack reportedly severing a major blood vessel.Villagers rushed the critically injured girl to the Primary Health Centre in Sujauli, but she died on the way. Her father works as a daily-wage labourer. The family also includes her two younger brothers.According to villagers, the leopard had been roaming around the village for several days. Residents claimed they had repeatedly urged the department to install a cage to capture the animal, but no timely action was taken.Katarniaghat Forest Division ranger Shiv Kumar said the department had received information about the incident and sent a team to the spot to investigate. He said the circumstances surrounding the attack were being examined and that he had no information yet about the installation of a cage. The girl’s body was sent for post-mortem examination.The latest attack comes after the recent fatal leopard attack in the Sujauli police station area. On Sept 24, a woman was reportedly killed by a leopard in the area. The animal was found sitting near her body after the attack and fled only when her screams alerted villagers, who rushed to the spot carrying sticks. Deep claw marks and bite injuries were reportedly found on her neck and shoulders.
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