A 14-year-old girl was allegedly killed by a wild animal, suspected to be a tiger, in the Sohagibarwa forest area along the Maharajganj-Kushinagar border. Her mutilated body was recovered nearly 17 hours after she went missing on Friday, officials said on Saturday.

The victim, identified as Guddi Chaudhary, had gone to cut sugarcane with her elder sister Angira (20) on Friday afternoon, about 300 metres from their home in Sohagibarwa village. Guddi later went into the nearby forest to collect firewood, after which she did not return.

When Angira returned to the field an hour later, she found Guddi missing. After an unsuccessful search, the family and villagers launched a nightlong operation using torches and sticks, but no trace of the girl was found until Saturday morning.

During the renewed search, bloodstains, slippers and scattered clothes were found in the forest area. A short distance away, Guddi’s body was discovered in three pieces between bushes and agricultural fields. One of her hands was found about 10 metres away from the body. Several body parts, including flesh from the abdomen and chest, were missing.

On receiving information, police and forest department teams reached the spot. The body was sent for a postmortem to determine the exact cause of death. The incident site is located about 150 km from the district headquarters. Guddi’s family members said the area has frequent movement of wild animals and several such incidents have occurred in the past.

They suspect a tiger was involved in the attack. Sohagibarwa Forest Range Officer Sunil Rao said that no clear animal footprints have been found so far.

“The attack could be by a tiger or a leopard. The situation will be clearer after the postmortem report,” he said, adding that villagers have been advised to avoid entering forest areas. The incident has once again raised concerns over the safety of residents living in villages close to forest and tiger reserve zones.