A four-year-old girl named Ada Yasir Mir was mauled to death by a wild leopard that attacked her brother’s birthday party in northern India.
The horrifying incident took place in Indian occupied Kashmir’s Srinagar, where the girl was walking in her family’s garden near the city when the animal dragged her away on Thursday – leaving behind only a doll she had been carrying.
Minutes earlier, Ada, dressed in a Barbie dress and a crown, had been calling her family to cut her brother Ali’s birthday cake.
On Friday, after her family searched for Ada for hours, the girl’s body parts were found in a nearby forest.
Local residents have said they warned wildlife officials that a few leopards were seen in the local area – but claim ‘nothing’ was done.
Sana Fazili, who lives in the local area, said the authorities ‘did nothing despite being alerted by the locals since February this year’.
Mr Ahmed said that the wild animals had been caught on camera in their neigbourhood, which is next to a 20-acre nursery.
‘The purpose of the nursery was to grow saplings which could be later planted in the forest area,’ he said. ‘But they have not maintained the nursery and it has virtually turned into a forest.
‘After her death, they started pruning trees and clearing the bushes which they should have done over the years.
‘We feel the death of the child is the outcome of the Forest Department’s actions. This nursery is surrounded by human habitation and there are wild animals roaming freely in the nursery.’
Dozens of mourners gathered outside the girl’s home at the weekend to express their condolences to the grieving family.
