Schoolgirl, five, is killed by a leopard after being dragged away by the neck while visiting her grandmother in India
- Shrutika Thit was visiting her grandmother’s village of Sakori in Maharashtra
- She was snatched while harvesting maize with her grandmother on Sunday
- The leopard was caught on Monday morning after villagers installed a cage
A five-year-old girl was killed after being snatched by a leopard while harvesting maize with her grandmother in India on Sunday evening.
Shrutika Thit and her grandmother Kusum Kaduskar went into the fields in Sakori village in the west-central state of Maharashtra at around 5pm on Sunday.
The leopard had been lying in wait nearby and seized the young girl, who was from another part of the state and had been visiting her grandmother’s village with her mother Swati.
Village spokesperson Vinod Modhave said the girl’s cries alerted her grandmother, who in turn raised the alarm with local residents.
A leopard was caught on Monday morning after villagers installed a cage and set up night patrols following the death of five-year-old Shrutika Thit on Sunday
‘The leopard had caught hold of her neck and was dragging her away,’ he said.
‘The villagers in nearby fields hurled stones at the leopard. It abandoned the child and fled.’
According to Modhave, there are three or four leopards roaming the sugar cane fields in the area.
Shrutika was taken to hospital in Manchar, but declared dead on arrival.
Forest ranger Prajot Palve told the Times of India that a leopard was caught early on Monday morning in a cage installed after the attack.
Forest department officers are carrying out patrols in and around the village during the night as a precautionary measure, Palve said.
Three or four more leopards are thought to be in and around the village of Sakori and sightings of them are not uncommon (file image)
Shrutika was the second child to have been killed by a leopard in the area surrounding the city of Pune so far this year.
In January, five-month-old Kalyani Zete, suffered a similar attack in Yedgaon of Junnar taluka, around 66 miles from Sakori.
Shrimant Gaikwad, assistant conservator of forest, Junnar division, told the Times of India that, as is customary, the victim’s family will be provided with Rs 15 lakh (£16,000) as compensation.