Bengaluru, May 9 (PTI): A three-year-old child was allegedly killed by a leopard during the early hours of Saturday in Ramanagara district of Karnataka, police said.

The leopard is said to have taken the boy away while he was asleep outside the house, along with his family members, to beat the high temperature at Kadaraiana Palya village, officials said.

On finding the boy missing, the family searched for him and found his body on the outskirts of the village.

Forest officials have launched a search for the big cat, they said.

Forest Minister Anand Singh visited the boy's family and announced a compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh.

Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh and legislator Manjunath too visited the village and met the bereaved family.

(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)