Stock image of leopard
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A 13-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard at a sugarcane field on Thursday.

The attack occurred around 1.30pm at Sabdalpur Rehra village in Bijnor district. Notably, this is the 18th human kill in a leopard attack in nine months in Bijnor. The last incident was on November 3, when a big cat killed another boy.

The forest department claimed that more than 40 leopards have been trapped and relocated since the attacks began in February.

On Thursday, Alfez along with friends went to a sugarcane field, 500m away from the village. Once they reached, a leopard suddenly appeared and dragged him away. Alfez's friends then screamed for help. Farmers working nearby started looking for the boy.

The leopard left the spot after killing him, villagers said, adding that they had informed forest authorities but they did not reach on time. Alfez was from Berkhera under Barhapur police limits. He was on a visit to his maternal uncle's place at Sabdalpur Rehra. When local police reached the area, villagers did not allow them to send the body for post-mortem. They demanded that the leopard be captured first.

Bijnor sub-divisional forest officer, Gyan Singh, said on Thursday, "The incident took place around 1.30pm at Rehra village. Cages are being set up to capture the big cat. About 73 sensitive villages were shortlisted in the district."