Leopard strays into Sohna, caught after 3-hour chase

DURGA COLONY, a densely populated locality in Gurgaon’s Sohna area, became the centre of attention Thursday morning, after a leopard ventured into its narrow lanes, attracting police personnel, officials from the forest department, and scores of bystanders.

The “three-year-old male leopard” was finally tranquilised and taken away in a cage four hours later, as the crowd cheered and ran after the tempo transporting the unconscious animal, eager to catch a glimpse.

Residents said the leopard was first spotted at 10.30 am, although a rumour about leopard spotting had circulated Wednesday night as well.

Gautam Kumar, 18, whose home is on a field about a kilometre from the colony, said, “Last night, one man near my home claimed that he saw a leopard. But we did not take him seriously.”

On Thursday morning, however, the animal turned up in Durga Colony, where it also attacked its only victim, Ajay Rai, 35, a labourer from Bihar.

“I was painting the boundary wall of a house when I spotted the leopard metres away. Before I could even attempt to run, it tried to claw my face,” said Rai, adding, “I automatically moved away, but it managed to scratch my nose.”

He was rushed to the General Hospital in Sohna, where he was administered first aid. Three hours later, he was back in Durga Colony.

Residents said the leopard ran into a vacant plot in the neighbourhood, where it was warded off by a group of monkeys. It then jumped on to the roof of a house, and was next seen in another lane in the colony, running into the bungalow of Kunwarpal Bhargav, a shopkeeper from Mandawar. For the next four hours, Bhargav, his wife and their two teenaged sons, and two pedestrians who had run into their home seeking shelter, remained locked inside as the leopard wandered up and down the stairs.

Forest officials and policepersonnel,residentsclaimed, arrived around 11.30 am,andfinallycapturedthe animal by 2.30 pm.

“We reached the scene with two tranquiliser guns, a net, and a cage. However, we only had to use one gun, and managed to conduct the operation successfully,” said Shyam Sunder, District Forest Officer, Gurgaon.

“The animal usually takes 15 to 20 minutes after it is hit by the tranquiliser to fall unconscious, so that is where the net helps. It contains the animal until it becomesimmobileandcanberemoved. In this case, we covered the entrance to the house with the net,” said M D Sinha, Conservator of Forest, Gurgaon.

Officials said the leopard was “perfectlyhealthyandwouldbereleasedinto the wild at night”.

Sinha said, “The colony is located 3 km from the Aravalli forest, so it is understandable that the animal may have entered the area at night in search of water or tracking the smell of meat.”

He also said, in a wider context, the increased sightings are “a good sign”.

The chaos at Durga Colony ended at 3 pm, as residents, as well as bystanders who had come from surrounding areas, dispersed after it was caught.

Manoj Kumar The leopard was caught around 2.30 pm in Sohna, Thursday.