A Buddhist monk meditating in Maharashtra's Tadoba forest was killed in an alleged leopard attack, BBC reported.
The deceased, identified as Rahul Walke, had been meditating under a tree in the forest which also happens to be a tiger reserve.
The Devendra Fadnavis government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 12 lakh for the bereaved family.
Forest officials said they had previously warned the monks against the possible peril of roaming in the forest. Walke, the member of a Buddhist temple located inside the forest, had gone little further from it to meditate.
The officials have launched a hunt to capture the animal. "I would like to tell everyone not to go inside the forest. We have set up two cages and a camera trap. We will try to tranquilise the animal if spotted," GP Narawane, a forest official told BBC Marathi.
A monk from the same temple claimed that he had seen a leopard attacking Walke when they visited his meditation spot to give him food but by the time he reached, Walke was already dead.
Tadoba forest is a habitat of 88 tigers along with leopards, sloth bears, hyenas and honey badgers.