Mumbai: Forest officials rescued a leopard that had strayed into Ulhasnagar early on Sunday, and released it in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the afternoon the same day.
Senior PI Ghanshyam Palange, Hill Line police station, said, “The big cat was first spotted by a 55-year old woman at 7.30 a.m. Though she tried to alert her family and neighbours, nobody took her seriously as a leopard had not been seen in the area previously.”
The police responded to a call from the owner of a coaching centre, whose CCTV camera had captured the leopard. Naresh Bhatia, owner, Sonam Tutorials, said, “The non-teaching staff called me around 8 a.m. about a leopard passing through our building compound and entering the house located opposite. I immediately called the residents of the house and the police after viewing the footage on my phone.”
A 20-member team from the Thane Forest Range reached the spot after noon, accompanied by a team from the SGNP. The leopard was found near the staircase of the house it had entered, near the meter room. The big cat was tranquillised through a hole in the wall made by forest officials.
The house is owned by Suresh Asrani, 58, a resident for over 30 years. “As it was a Sunday morning, we were asleep when Mr. Bhatia called about the leopard entering our residence. We panicked and locked ourselves in.”
The operation to rescue the leopard took nearly three hours, officials said. Mr. Palange said, “It was definitely not from the national park, and it wasn’t a man-eater. It could have travelled through Ambernath from near Barvi Dam, as there are many leopards in that area,” Mr. Palange said.
Mohsin Shaikh, an eyewitness, said the leopard killed and ate one of his goats before entering Mr. Asrani’s residence. However, the police said there was no trace of blood or the goat’s remains in the vicinity.
