Teenage girl, 10, fell on wild animal before being dragged away and beaten to death – World News

A 10-year-old girl was dragged from her family’s home in northern Kashmir by what was believed to be a feral animal attack, dying in the third child death in 48 hours

A 10-year-old girl was killed in a vicious attack by a wild animal after two boys died earlier this week, sources say.

The young child, identified as Rutba Manzoor, is believed to have been attacked by the beast on Tuesday and taken to a nearby forest in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

Despite the screams of her family and neighbors, the animal, possibly a leopard, ran away with the child and disappeared into the dense forest.

Attempts to capture the animal failed and later a search led to the tragic discovery of the ten-year-old’s body.

The death means three children have died in just two days after the bodies of two boys were found on Sunday, reports said Kashmir news service.

A 12-year-old boy named Shahid Ahmad was found in the forest area after looking for cattle.

And the body of 15-year-old Muneer Ahmad was found dead after suffering injuries that also suggested he had been attacked by a wild animal.

The incidents have caused panic in the area and the community has urged authorities to take action and locate the animal.

Animal attacks on humans have become increasingly common in the region and a meeting was held with police and civilian officials at the Baramulla Deputy Commissioner’s office.

While a strategy has been developed to search for the animal, the Department of Wildlife Conservation, whose responsibility it is to deal with such incidents, is severely understaffed, officials reported.

But a team of 50 men has been put together to search for the animal and Rashid Naqash, the regional wildlife protection warden, said he was confident they would be able to catch it soon.

“This is a coordinated operation with Forest Protection, J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) Police and local people trying to capture or kill the animal,” Naqash said Kashmir Observer.