Leopard enters housing society in Thane district; rescue operation underway.
Credit: Special arrangement
Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a leopard which accidentally strayed into a highly-congested residential area in Mira-Bhayander suburbs of Mumbai grievously injured seven persons before it was trapped on Friday evening.
The leopard entered the Parijat Building complex off the Talav Road area of Bhayandar East in the Thane district, which is part of the Mumbai metropolitan region.
The teams of Maharashtra Forest Department, Thane Forest Range, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation and Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar Police to launch hectic efforts and rescue the residents and trap the leopard.
It seems that the leopard has strayed away either from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park or the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary or Thane Forest Range.
"There was tension, sense of fear and anguish...the incident triggered chaos in the locality," said Surendra Mishra, a resident of Mira-Bhayander.
Those injured were identified as: Dipu Bhawmik (52), Chaganlal Bahrecha (48), Shyam Pratap Sahni (29), Khushi Mukesh Tak (23), Anjali Mukesh Tak (23), Bharti Tak (55) and Rajesh Yadav (50).
The victims were badly bruised by the leopard.
"The leopard could be seen in the staircase area and all of a sudden started attacking people," said Rakesh Nigam, a local resident, adding that a few people managed to capture the visuals and images of leopard in their smartphones.
The surrounding areas were cordoned off and people were asked to stay indoors by the police as the operation continued for nearly six hours.
The MFD and SGNP teams managed to administer a precise tranquilliser dart without causing harm to the big cat.
It was subsequently shifted to the Leopard Rescue Centre of the SGNP at Borivli in Mumbai.
Mira-Bhayander MLA Narendra Mehta called upon state Forest Minister Ganesh Naik urging the State Government for swift action.
"The leopard is safe and is in the rescue centre," said state Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik.
He demanded that the injured persons be treated at government's expense and adequate compensation should be provided. "There needs to be strict preventive measures to stop leopards and other wild animals form entering urban areas," he said.
BMC Commissioner and Administrator Radhabinod Sharma said that the injured persons are being treated in various hospitals.
Similar incident last fortnight in Nagpur
It may be mentioned, on 11 December, leopard entered the densely populated Shiv Nagar area of Pardi, Nagpur district and injured seven residents - leading to the matter being discussed in the Maharashtra legislature.
Leopard attacks become political issue
Over the past couple of months, there has been an increase in leopard attacks in Pune, Ahilyanagar and Nashik districts of Maharashtra leading to over a dozen deaths and injuries to several others. As per of the response, the MFD has trapped several leopards. A larger rehabilitation plan is being worked out.