Mumbai: In yet another horrific incident of man-animal conflict at Aarey Milk Colony, a leopard killed a three-year-old boy in the Unit 30 area behind Film City on Friday evening. The leopard snatched the toddler, Vihan Garuda, by the neck while he was at play and dragged him away while his parents looked on, stunned.
According to sources at the Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Centre in Jogeshwari (east), the family was heading to a relative’s home near FilmCity. When they paused to take in the sights of the studio, the wild cat came out of the bushes and grabbed the child by the neck and escaped in the jungle. After the parents came out of their stupor and gave chase, they found the child half an hour later.
The source added that the family rushed the child to a nearby private nursing home where he was declared dead on arrival. They were then directed to take their child to the trauma centre as it was a government-run hospital, but it was too late.
According to an Aarey police official, the incident occurred between 5 and 5.30 pm.
“A post-mortem report will confirm the cause of the death. The police has visited the site of the incident and is making inquiries into the frequency of the leopard’s visit,” said the official.
