COIMBATORE: A five-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard at Iyerpadi tea estate near Valparai in Coimbatore district on Saturday night.The deceased has been identified as R Saiful Alam, son of Rojavelli, 40, a guest worker from Assam who resides at the tea estate’s staff quarters.“Around 7.15pm on Saturday, Rojavelli’s three children were playing in front of the staff quarters when a leopard suddenly attacked and dragged Saiful into the nearby bushes. A neighbour, who heard the boy cry in distress, informed the estate officer,” a forest officer said.When alerted, forest field staff members reached the spot and conducted a search. “The boy was found dead in the tea estate with visible injuries on his body. The field staff recovered the body and sent that to the govt hospital in Valparai for a postmortem,” the officer said.He said an initial compensation amount would be handed over to the victim’s family on Sunday.
