Balrampur: A dismembered body of a five-year-old girl was found in a forest near Dhuboli village here, police said on Sunday.
Roshni Yadav, 5, daughter of one Mankal Yadav, was sleeping in the courtyard of her house, when she went missing, police said.
When her parents didn't find her in the house, they gathered the villagers and went searching for her.
They found Roshni's mutilated body in a forest 2 km away from the village. The villagers then informed the forest department about the incident.
Sohelwa Wildlife Forest Officer Prakhar Gupta on Sunday said that a forest department team was sent to the spot after they got the information about the incident. The body was collected by the team for investigation.
Gupta speculated that the incident could be a consequence of occult practices.
The villagers on other hand claimed that the girl was mauled by a leopard which has killed four cattle belonging to people from the village in last one month.
Village head Ashok Kumar Tharu said when the people went into the forest looking for the missing girl, they saw a leopard eating her body.
They said they scared the big cat away from the girl by lighting a fire, and returned to the village with the dead body.
Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar Saxena said that the case lies in jurisdiction of the forest department.
Considering the counterclaims, the girl’s body was sent for a post-mortem. Its report is awaited.