An eight-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in the Durgapur area of Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, said a senior forest department officer on Thursday.
The boy, identified as Pratik Bawane, had come to the house of his grandmother in Durgapur following the death of his grandfather, he said.
The boy, whose parent reside in Bhadravati town of the district, was playing outside the house when a leopard suddenly appeared from nearby bushes, pounced on him and dragged him away on Wednesday evening, the officer said.
As he screamed for help, neighbours and relatives started looking for him and immediately informed the forest department, he said.
The body of Bawane was later found 500 metres away from the house, said the officer.
Angry citizens chanted slogans against the forest department and the local administration, leading to tension in the area.
On Thursday, local NCP leader Nitin Bhatarkar created ruckus at the Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) office located near the site of the leopard attack and demanded that bushes in the area be cleared.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
3 Children Crushed Under Tractor Carrying Ganesh Idol In Maharashtra: Cops Video: Leopard Spotted Crossing Road In Bengaluru's Electronic City I Also Want To Be Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar Breaks His Silence 9 Dead, 2,800 Hurt As Pagers Explode Across Lebanon, Hezbollah Blames Israel Highlights: Arvind Kejriwal Resigns, Atishi To Be Delhi Chief Minister IndiGo Flight Tailstrike Leaves Huge Dent During Take-Off From Delhi Airport New Security Arrangements Needed If...: Head Of Secret Service To Trump India, US To Explore Strengthening Energy Cooperation North Korea Fires 'Unidentified Ballistic Missile': Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.