BENGALURU: Forest Department officials on Wednesday finally managed to trap the leopard which had created a scare in Kudlu and surrounding areas on the second day of the operation. The animal was taken to the Bannerghatta Biological Park. However, it died in the veterinary hospital as it has sustained a bullet injury after one of the Forest Department officials had opened fire.
Much drama preceded the capture of the leopard, which had been eluding the Forest officials for two days. Veterinarian Kiran was attacked by the leopard when he tried to tranquilise it near an abandoned building in Krishnareddy Industrial Layout. He was immediately rushed to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.
A member of the leopard task force too sustained minor injuries when he slipped and fell. The leopard, however, was not tranquilised and hid in the bushes behind the building.
After a daylong unsuccessful operation on Tuesday, the leopard was spotted jumping the compound wall of a cemetry in Krishnareddy Layout around 11 pm on Monday. From there, it had moved to the abandoned building which had been searched with drones and thermal imaging cameras earlier on Tuesday.
The Forest Department officials and the leopard task force personnel, who had arrived from Mysuru, had placed five cages in the basement and around the abandoned building to trap the animal.
On Wednesday morning, when the search operation resumed, the Bandepalya police cordoned off the road leading to the industrial layout and about 70 Forest Department personnel surrounded the building. When they could not locate the leopard in the bushes behind the building, an excavator was called in to clear the thick brambles and bushes.
Finally, the leopard was spotted by the side of a wall by a veterinarian and a forest officer ,who were standing in the bucket of the excavator, took shots. While the veterinarian fired a dart, the officer fired a bullet, which hit the leopard. While it was trying to escape, the forest staff quickly trapped it in a net, shifted the animal into a cage and took it to Bannerghatta Biological Park where it died.
Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy, who was at the scene, said people are relieved that the leopard was finally captured. “I congratulate the Forest Department and I will personally give the personnel Rs 2 lakh for their efforts. I will also direct them to take steps to ensure that such incidents don’t recur”, he told Public TV.
The leopard was first spotted on October 28 at Kudlu in Bommasandra and was captured on CCTV camera at Salarpuria Cadenza apartment and AECS Layout. Following this, Forest officials made announcements advising residents not to move alone at night and to carry sticks.
The Forest Department staff had also conducted patrols at night in the area after pug marks were found behind the Cadenza apartment. Over the last three days, residents had not been stepping out for morning walks and are dropping off children to schools by cabs.