An eight-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in the Durgapur area of Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, said a senior forest department officer on Thursday. The deceased, identified as Pratik Bawane, had come to the house of his grandmother in Durgapur here following the death of his grandfather, he said.

The boy, whose parent reside in Bhadravati town of the district, was playing outside the house when a leopard suddenly appeared from nearby bushes, pounced on him and dragged him away on Wednesday evening, the officer said.