The Islamabad Police on Friday booked an unidentified person for “domesticating” a leopard, a day after the wild animal strayed into a posh residential area here and injured six people, according to media reports.
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At least six people, including two wildlife department personnel, were injured on Thursday after being attacked by the leopard that entered sector 2 of DHA Phase II, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
According to eyewitnesses, at 3.30 pm a large-sized leopard entered the area and attacked a security guard. The animal bit the security guard and he fell to the ground.
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The Islamabad Police, in a tweet, said an unidentified person has been booked under sections 324 (attempt to commit murder) and 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animal) of the Pakistan Penal Code at Sahala police station, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The leopard was a pet at an unknown person’s home, the police said.
“The suspect endangered the lives of citizens by keeping dangerous animals,” it said in another tweet. “The search for the accused is ongoing, legal action will be taken after arresting him soon.” Videos of the wild animal jumping across walls and navigating roads in the DHA Phase II surfaced on social media on Thursday. The leopard was captured by Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) after hours-long efforts, media reports said.
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman tweeted a video of the big cat sitting on the ground, saying “leopard who escaped from a private zoo last night in Islamabad is alive and well at our Animal Rescue centre at the old zoo”.
“Its six-hour capture operation injured one of our Wildlife staff quite badly. Costs to the community and the animal could have been much higher. Stop private zoos,” the Dawn newspaper quoted Rehman as saying.