UDAIPUR: Residents at Lakadwas village, adjoining the city area, were terrified and locked themselves inside their homes on Wednesday when they saw a leopard prowling in the area.
Panic hit the village and people ran helter skelter upon seeing the wild cat. Some of the men and youths chased the leopard, who in turn was frightened to see the human populace and tried to hide behind bushes in the fields.
The incident was reported on Wednesday morning when one of the villagers spotted the beast near bus stand. Some men and youths burst firecrackers, beat drums and plates to scare away the wild cat.
The leopard sustained some minor injury on its paws during the episode. The high voltage drama continued for an hour until the rescue team, including forest officials and cops from Pratap Nagar police station, arrived. They held a search for the leopard and finally tranquillised it.
“The female leopard, which is around 5 years old, appears to be sick. She happened to enter the human settlement on Tuesday night and hid inside an under-construction building in Lakadwas area.
When a local entered the building, he faced an attack too and informed our team. On Wednesday, rescue team found the leopard and brought her to Sajjangarh Zoological Park. The animal needs treatment and once she recovers, we will release it in forest,” DCF Balaji Kari said. tnn