A girl was mauled to death by a leopard in Sonardi village in Gujarat. (Representational)
A seven-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in Sonardi village in Gujarat's Junagadh district on Saturday, forest officials said.
Mannat Rathod was dragged away by a leopard when she was accompanying her grandparents to a river to wash clothes, Vanthali Range Forest Officer LH Sujetra said.
"The incident took place at 11am. Villagers rushed the child to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival. Four to five cages have been set up in the area to capture the leopard," he said.
Her relative said the victim had insisted on accompanying her grandparents to the river after returning from school.
They said her grandparents raised an alarm, which brought villagers to the site, and a man even threw stones into the bushes to get the leopard to release the child from its grip in vain.
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