Mumbai  : A sneaky leopard on Sunday night took away a seven-year-old girl Sanjani Thorat, in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, when she had gone with her mother Sangita to answer the call of nature.

The Thorat family resides in Shankar Tekdi, Mulund adjoining the national park.

Sanjana’s mother raised a hue and cry, and local residents armed with sticks, axes and flames rushed into the darkness of the forest in search of the girl.

The search was called off late in the night. The residents are awaiting help from forest staff, who will resume their search in the morning, says Ganesh Chavan, forest officer, Thane district