Sumbal: In a tragic incident, a 7-year-old boy died in an alleged leopard attack in the Nesbal area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Tuesday.
An official said the boy had gone missing on Monday evening, following which a massive search operation was launched by Police, 13RR, CRPF and locals to trace him.
They found blood and clothes near their field, leading them to suspect that a leopard, which had been sighted often in the area, had attacked the boy, the official said.
After searching for over 10 hours, the boy’s mutilated body was found in a nearby hillock in Nesbal in the early morning on Tuesday.
His body was discovered in the forest on Tuesday morning, with multiple injuries and signs of mutilation. Some of his body parts were eaten up by the wild animal.
His body was taken to Sumbal Hospital for postmortem.
The doctor confirmed to Kashmir Reader that the boy had died in a “wild animal attack”. The body was later handed over to the family.
The outraged villagers came out on the streets and expressed resentment against the Wildlife Department alleging that it was due to their incapability and callous approach that the tragic incident happened.
They urged Deputy Commissioner Bandipora to look into the matter and initiate strict action against wildlife department officials.

GOWHAR MAQBOOL