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Little Adha Shakil\u2019s body was found in woodland the morning after she went missing (Picture: SWNS)A four-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard after going missing outside her family home.
\nThe youngster, named by relatives as Adha Shakil, had been playing out in the garden when she was snatched by the big cat on Thursday.
\nWorried relatives reported her missing and a search was launched in the Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
\nPolice officers, supported by wildlife experts and Army troops, worked through the night to find Adha and eventually found her mutilated body in woodland the following morning.
\nHer heartbroken grandfather Ghulam Hassan Mir paid tribute to the \u2018apple of [his] eye\u2019 and \u2018princess\u2019 on Friday.
\nHe said: \u2018She was an apple of my eye. She was our princess, she was your daughter. We\u2019re doomed.
\n\u2018Adha was incredible.\u2019
\nHe added: \u2018We repeatedly stressed to the government (about the wild animals). This is a very sorry state. I plead to the authorities that in the future the security of the locals should be ensured.\u2019<\/p>\n
Adha had been playing outside when she vanished on Thursday (Picture: SWNS)Angry locals claim sightings of leopards \u2018on the prowl\u2019 had been reported to wildlife officials but nothing had been acted on.
\nSyed Khalid told India Today: \u2018We have been pleading with the wildlife officials for long to do something about it.
\n\u2018This nursery has become so dense now and they need to take steps to ensure such gruesome incidents don\u2019t take place.\u2019
\nAnother neighbour, Mushtaq Ahmed, added: \u2018The latest attack has spread panic in the area. We\u2019re all restless after losing a precious soul.\u2019
\nAccording to official records, 49 people were killed and 829 injured in animal attacks in the province between 2014 and 2018, The Hindu reports.
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