Leopard’s visit to Thane mall puts residents, officials in spot of bother
CLOSE ENCOUNTER Officials catch 5-year-old wild cat from hotel basement
Military Ground Hotel Satkar Residency
THANE: Close to six hours after Korum Mall in Thane on the Eastern Express Highway had a leopard pay it a most unexpected visit around 5.30am on Wednesday, leaving residents and security officials tense, forest department authorities managed to trap the big cat.
After being seen at two places in the area, the five-year-old male animal was tranquilised and caught at the basement of Satkar hotel, a few metres from the mall. After bursting crackers to scare the animal from its hiding place and also offering chickens as bait, forest officials had to finally enter the basement, where the animal, was moving around in a dark corner of a cabin-like structure .
The leopard is believed to have entered the mall complex after scaling the perimeter wall. A search operation was initiated after the leopard was seen moving towards the Vasant Vihar residential area in the vicinity.
“The CCTV footage from the mall shows the wild cat leaving the mall premises around 5.30am,” said P Giridhar, senior police inspector, Vartak Nagar. Forest department officials along with the police and the fire brigade team were on their toes after they were alerted about the cat.
“Police officers and the forest team combed the area to trace the animal. Around 5.45am, they got an alert that it was spotted at Mondelez company. By the time the forest team reached the spot, the leopard had gone,” said a police officer from Vartak Nagar.
The CCTV footage from Mondelez company showed the animal climbing its stairs. Around 6.20am, a resident of Samta Nagar saw the leopard run towards a public toilet.
Ramchandra Pawar, 62, a resident of Siddhivinayak chawl at Samta Nagar, behind the hotel, saw the leopard’s tail while stepping out of the public toilet. “As soon as I saw the tail, I stood still . However, the leopard just looked behind and walked away towards the barren land behind the chawl,” said Pawar. Pawar alerted his family members, but they did not believe him. Around 6.30am, security guards at the hotel saw the leopard entering the hotel’s basement. They alerted the forest officials.
“I spotted the leopard entering from the backside of the hotel, which opens on the road towards Korum Mall. The leopard came A five-year-old male leopard is spotted in the parking lot of Korum Mall, along the eastern express highway in Thane. CCTV footage shows the leopard going towards Vasant Vihar
running and ran towards the hotel’sbasement,”said,gurudev Singh, 45, a driver at Satkar hotel.
The police cordoned off the area. By now, residents had gathered in large numbers to see the leopard. “Around 7.30 am, 50 forest CCTV footage shows the animal climbing the stairs at Mondelez company
Residents of Siddhivinayak chawl at
Samta Nagar see the leopard run towards a public toilet officials from Thane forest department and Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) laid a trap at Satkar hotel,” said a police officer. “As the leopard kept moving, it took us time to tranquilise him. Around 11.30am, we managed to Security guards of Satkar hotel spot the leopard entering the hotel’s basement
Forest officials up a trap at the entrance of the hotel. Fifty officials from SGNP and Thane forest department take part in the rescue operation. A team of around 40 police personnel keep onlookers at bay
set Two chickens are released in the basement. Officials burst crackers to force the leopard out of his hiding
Officials find the leopard ina dark corner of a cabin. They tranquilise it and put it in a cage
The leopard is taken to Sanjay Gandhi National
Park in
Borivli
tranquilise the animal and put it in a cage,” said Jitendra Ramgaonkar, deputy conservator of forest, Thane.
According to the animal rescue team, the leopard will be under observation for a day or
leopards Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Korum Mall
Mulund West
two. “A detailed medical examination will be done. We will check whether a microchip is attached to his body and whether he had been captured before by the forest team,” said Pawan Sharma, honorary wildlife warden, Maharashtra H s e r xp ne Easter
leopards
Thane East forest department.
Later, forest officials conducted a combing operation at the mall .
The mall opened at 11.30am on Wednesday — a hour later than its usual schedule.