A leopard killed an eight -year -old girl after rushing into a residential area near the control line (LOC) in Azad Jammu and the Hattian Balamire district, officials announced on Sunday.
According to police, the tragic incident took place in Pando Nala, a village around 15 kilometers from Chinari and about 65 km from Muzaffarabad, the regional capital. The area is near the loc.
The predator would have entered the courtyard of a house and would have torn off the girl, taking her to neighboring woods, police said. The family and the inhabitants began to immediately search the area, painting the nearby fields and the wooded patches in the hope of recovering the child.
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Three hours later, the girl’s body was discovered in a dense thicket. A police official said the leopard seemed to have bitten the child on the neck and sucked his blood before fleeing from the adjacent forest.
The authorities have urged residents of the surrounding villages to remain vigilant and to avoid leaving children unattended, especially during twilight and dawn in areas adjacent to forests. Efforts are underway to trace the animal.
