The baby's body was found around half a km away from his house. (Representational)

A nine-month-old baby was mauled to death, apparently by a leopard, in a village in Maharashtra's Chandrapur today, officials said. The baby's body was found around half a km away from his house.

"The baby boy was sleeping alongside his parents when a leopard possibly sneaked into their house, located close to a forest area, and took him away without anybody noticing it," range forest officer Arun Gond, said.

When they found him missing, the child's parents raised an alarm and informed the forest officials. A search was launched and the infant's body was found, he added.

The forest officials have set up cameras and cages to capture the leapord.