The leopard was present in an area where research facilities of the establishment are located. No one was present there at the time, officials added. (Representational)Teams from the Pune forest department have responded after a leopard was sighted in the early hours of Tuesday inside the campus of the Research and Development Establishment, Engineers (R&DE), a facility of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) located on Alandi Road in Pune.
Officials said that the leopard was first sighted around 3 am by security personnel of the establishment on the CCTV cameras installed across the campus. The leopard was present in an area where research facilities of the establishment are located. No one was present there at the time, they added.
Deputy conservator of forests (Pune division) Rahul Patil said, “Our teams are at the spot and rescue operation for the leopard is currently on.”
Officials said that facilities around the spot where the leopard was sighted were kept closed on Tuesday morning and a perimeter has been secured by the security personnel. The location of the leopard sighting is very close to the forest area inside the campus which also extends outside.
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R&DE (Engineers), a premier facility of the DRDO, is engaged in the indigenous development of various engineering systems for the Indian defence forces.
Earlier this year, in the third week of March, a leopard had ventured into the campus of Mercedes-Benz India in Pune’s Chakan. The animal was rescued before noon by forest department personnel and wildlife rescue experts with the help of local police.