Leopard kills 12-year-old boy in Lakhimpur Kheri during Diwali
The child was setting off firecrackers in his courtyard when the leopard attacked him on Sunday evening.
A leopard killed a 12-year-old boy in the Jamunabad Farm area of Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday evening, according to Bhaskar English and Prabhat Khabar. The child, identified as Rohit Kumar, was setting off firecrackers and lighting sparklers in his home courtyard when the animal attacked him.
The incident occurred around 7 pm in the Gola police station area, approximately 35 kilometres from the district headquarters. The leopard reportedly leapt over the boundary wall of a sugarcane research centre, entered the courtyard, and carried the boy away toward the sugarcane fields.
Villagers and the boy's parents searched the fields with torches on Sunday night, but the child could not be traced due to the darkness. On Monday, 9 November, police and Forest Department teams launched a fresh search operation with villagers.
Rohit's body was found in bushes about 150 metres from his house on Monday morning. His family stated the body was found in three pieces, with his skull and two partially eaten legs lying separately.
The deceased was a Class 5 student and the only son of Lalu, a daily-wage labourer, and Saroja Devi. The police have sent the body for a post-mortem examination.
Terrified villagers have demanded that the Forest Department capture the leopard and increase monitoring in the area.