Pauri (U'khand), Feb 4 (PTI) An 11-year-old boy was mauled to death by a wild animal in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district, officials said on Sunday.

They said the incident occurred in Gwad village near Khirsu Khand on Saturday evening when Ankit (11) was playing with friends in an agricultural field near his house.

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As the animal attacked him, the boy raised an alarm, the forest department officials said, adding that the animal fled after villagers rushed to Ankit's rescue.

The boy was taken to the Shrikot hospital where the doctors declared him dead.

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The incident has triggered panic in the area. A team of forest officials, led by Ranger Lalit Mohan, has been deployed in the village. A police team has also been deployed.

Divisional Forest Officer, Garhwal, Swapnil Anirudh told PTI that it is yet to be ascertained whether the boy was attacked by a leopard or some other animal.

More details would emerge once the post-mortem report arrives, he said, adding that forest officials are regularly patrolling the area.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)