A six-year old girl was found dead following a suspected wild animal attack on the steps leading to Tirumala on Saturday, a TTD official said.
The body of the girl from Dornapadu village in Nellore district was found in an area near the Narasimha Swamy temple, they said. Officials said they suspected a bear attack.
The girl along with her family was climbing the footway to Tirumala when the incident occurred.
According to TTD's chief vigilance and security officer D. Narasimha Kishore, the girl had asked her father to buy something but he refused, following which she moved ahead and went missing.
He said the girl had gone missing once but shopkeepers in the area found her and handed her over to the parents. However, she went missing a second time and could not be traced.
He further said the place where the girl's body was found is not frequented by leopards and added that forest officials suspected the wild animal could be a bear going by the pattern of attack on the girl. He said forest officials ruled out a leopard attack.
Considering that the incident occurred in the forest area, Mr. Kishore said the TTD has to formulate a new policy on allowing pilgrims through the steps after 6 pm or not permitting people with young children.
The girl's death comes in the wake of a boy surviving a leopard attack recently.
