Gujarat: Leopard enters court building, captured

A leopard took shelter in a court building in Chotila town in Gujarat's Surendranagar district Friday, causing panic.

The animal was captured before it could hurt anyone.

It was first spotted hiding in an abandoned house next to the magistrate's court, following which locals alerted forest officials, said Deputy Conservator of Forest G A Zala.

"When we tried to catch the leopard, it jumped over the common wall and entered into court premises. Seeing so many people around, it then jumped into a room through its window," he said.

"Around ten court staff were in the room, who made a quick exit and bolted the door from outside. Our men closed the window. Then we learnt that two employees were still inside. Luckily, they could lock themselves up in a small chamber inside the room," said the officer.

The forest officials decided to rescue them first before dealing with the leopard. As there was no chance of bringing them out through the main door, they were rescued by breaking the window of the chamber, Zala said.

"We then entered the room and caught the leopard using a tranquiliser gun," the officer said.

The leopard is "sub-adult", around two years old, he said.

"The nearby forest is home to some leopards. It might have lost its way and entered the town," Zala said, adding that the animal will be released in the wild.

Last month, a leopard had sneaked into the secretariat in Gandhinagar. It was caught following a day-long operation.