Boy, 11, dragged to his death by lion before sickening discovery made in forest

An 11-year-old boy was dragged off by a lion and killed in front of terrified pilgrims as he climbed a sacred hill in India, forest officials have confirmed — before his shoes were discovered in the woodland.

Mayur Chauhan was walking up the newly built staircase on Girnar Hill in Gujarat’s Junagadh district with his family when the lion burst from the treeline and seized him, according to the state Forest Department.

The attack happened near the 50th step of the pilgrimage route at around 5:45 am IST on July 11, officials said. Chauhan, from Kheda district, was pulled into nearby woodland before anyone could reach him.

Hundreds of devotees were making the climb at the time. Search teams later found the boy’s shoes, clothing, and partial remains scattered through the forest.

The Forest Department shut the Girnar steps immediately and launched a search involving trackers, armed guards and vets. Three lions spotted in the area were tranquilized and taken to Sakkarbaug Zoo within hours so experts could establish which animal was responsible.

Deputy Conservator of Forests Akshay Joshi said the lions had been safely captured and confirmed the boy’s death in a statement to local media. Vets later found human remains in the vomit of one of the captured lions, which officials say points to that animal as the one behind the attack.

The other two lions are still being examined to determine whether they were also involved. Investigators have gathered paw prints and drag marks from the scene as part of their inquiry into exactly how the attack unfolded.

Girnar Hill sits inside the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary and is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in western India, home to ancient Jain and Hindu shrines, including the Ambaji and Dattatreya temples. Thousands of pilgrims climb its roughly 10,000 stone steps every day.

Gujarat is the only place on Earth where Asiatic lions still roam wild, and numbers have grown steadily over the past decade. That has pushed prides further out of the core forest and closer to villages and pilgrim routes, raising the risk of encounters with humans.

Local reports say this is the ninth lion attack on a person in the state in the space of 46 days, though authorities have not released an official tally. The state government is understood to offer compensation of around Rs 10 lakh (roughly £7,681) to families of those killed in wildlife attacks under the existing policy, though officials have not yet confirmed a payout in this case.

Forest officials say the steps will remain closed to pilgrims until the investigation is complete and it is safe for the public to return.