Barwani: A nine-year-old boy from a village on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border died 21 days after being attacked by a leopard in Barwani district, with forest and health officials suspecting that he may have developed rabies.The suspicion of rabies put the forest department on their toes. Conservator of forests Basu Kanojia told TOI that the health department was yet to share the details of the cause of death. “In case rabies is detected, protocol will be followed. The area will be sanitised and the leopard will be rescued,” she said.Sendhwa sub-divisional forest officer Om Prakash Bidare told TOI the incident occurred on July 7 when two boys, Kunal (9) and Arun (10), of Moharat Mal village in the Bijasan area, had gone into the forest to graze goats. They inadvertently strayed into an area where the leopard was resting, prompting the big cat to pounce on them.Bidare said Kunal suffered severe bite injuries to his face, while Arun sustained injuries on other parts of his body. They were initially taken to the civil hospital in Sendhwa, but were later referred to MY Hospital in Indore. Both were discharged on July 22 after treatment.