By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
An elderly woman and a child were killed in leopard attacks in two separate incidents in Uttarakhand during the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday.
In Sindravani village of Rudraprayag district, Daksh Bisht, a 5 year old boy who was playing in his courtyard on Tuesday was killed after a leopard dragged him into the forests.
Upon receiving the information, teams from the district administration and the forest department launched a search for the child. After a long search lasting several hours, the mutilated body of the child was recovered late at night.
Meanwhile, the Rudraprayag district administration has declared a holiday for the next two days in eight schools in the area for the safety of the children.
In another incident, a 60-year-old woman was killed in a leopard attack in the Juna Estate area of Bhimtal in Nainital district.
Ganga Devi had gone to the forest to collect fodder for her cattle on Monday, but did not return till late evening, after which the villagers started searching for her. After a long search, the woman’s body was recovered deep inside the forest on Tuesday morning, bearing clear signs of a leopard attack.
The villagers alleged that leopard activity has been observed in the area for quite some time, but the forest department has not yet taken any concrete steps to catch it. They have demanded that cages be set up in the area.
In the past 1-2 months, nearly three people were killed by leopards in the area.