Bahraich (UP), Jun 22 (PTI) A woman was mauled to death by a leopard in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary here on Thursday, forest officials said.

"One Vineeta Kumari (37) a resident of Kallupurva Village of Kakraha forest range was collecting firewood in the forest when a leopard attacked and killed her," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Akashdeep Badhawan told PTI.

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The body has been sent for a postmortem examination, he said, adding that the forest officials have provided financial aid to the family members of the deceased to perform the last rites.

According to the data provided by the department, 20 people have died and 70 others sustained injuries in 90 instances of man-animal conflict in the last 14 months.

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Situated in this Uttar Pradesh district, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. It provides strategic connectivity between the tiger habitats of Dudhwa and Kishanpur in India and the Bardia National Park in Nepal.

(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)