Leopard killed by villagers in India after it mauls 7

A villager near India's Gurgaon caught a wild leopard by the scruff of its neck and others beat it to death today after the animal ran loose on the streets of the locality, triggering widespread panic for hours.

The animal was spotted around 8:10am and ran amok for more than three hours on the streets of Mandawar village, 26 kilometres from Gurgaon, Haryana, local media reported.

The big cat was finally cornered in a hut around 11:45am, beaten to death in front of police and wildlife officials and its corpse dragged to the main road.

"The animal had its claws round a girl's neck when a young man grabbed it by its neck and pulled it off her. Other villagers them overpowered the leopard, beat it with sticks and killed it," locals said.

 Seven villagers were injured in the incident and rushed to the nearby Sohna Civil Hospital.

People told police that the leopard was spotted in the region on several occasions over the last one year. The information was conveyed to forest officials but they remained inactive.