Leopard enters residential colony in Gurugram, injures two

Residents of Durga Colony in Sohna in the outskirts of Gurugram on Thursday had a deadly experience after a leopard entered the colony and lurked in the residential area for over five hours. The animal was later tranquilised and released back in the wild by forest department officials.

The wild feline injured two residents, including a six-year-old child.

The incident was reminiscent of the incident on November 24 last year, where a leopard had entered Mandawar village in Sohna, injured 11 people and was ultimately killed by the enraged villagers.

On Thursday, the foraging leopard entered from the Aravallis into the residential colony around 7.00.

After one of the residents spotted the leopard, panic ensued in the colony. Some residents, out of fear and panic, started screaming and began pelting stone at the leopard.

The leopard began hopping from one residence to another so as to escape.

Around 9.00 am, the leopard entered the house of 30-year-old Anil Kumar and attacked him.

Kumar sustained injuries after being scratched on his back and face and was later rushed to a local hospital.

A six-year-old child was also attacked after it accidently came in the leopard's way.

Some frightened residents locked themselves in their houses for many hours, while the leopard kept lurked near their residences.

Not repeating the same mistakes as they had committed in the November 24 incident, the forest officials took their time and, after labouring for over five hours, successfully tranquillised the leopard and caught it alive.

While the operation to catch the cat was on, forest officials counselled the residents and advised to maintain calm and be restrained.

"We never expected that a leopard can enter our area. After this incident there will be fear and concerns, especially regarding the safety of our children," said Ramsharan, a resident of Durga colony.

In addition to frequent sightings of wild felines in the outskirts of Gurugram, of late there have also been concerns over sightings of the leopards in posh areas of the Millennium City, such as Sector 57 and DLF-V.