A 7-year old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in Almora district of Uttarakhand.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening when she was playing near her house which falls under the jurisdiction of Bhikiasain nagar panchayat.

"The girl's body has been recovered from a nearby bush of the village following a search operation. A cage is being installed to catch the leopard," said forest range officer Mohan Ram Arya.

The deceased girl, identified as Divya, was a Grade II student and was playing with her friends under a mango tree near her house when the leopard appeared out of nowhere and attacked her.

The leopard then grabbed Divya by the neck and dragged her to a nearby bush.

Divya's friends, who were playing with her, rushed towards locals and raised the alarm on the incident.

Her mother Kavita and her grandparents, who were away working on their farm, rushed to the spot with other villagers. Forest officials also reached the spot commenced a search operation.

The body was later found at a nearby bush.

Locals alleged that the leopard had been on the prowl in the area for the past three months and had killed a few cattle and dogs.