Leopard rampages through crowded Indian neighbourhood, injuring three

A leopard entered a crowded neighbourhood in central India and attacked three people before being caught today (January 25).

The leopard entered Savarkar Nagar area in Nashik district, Maharashtra state in the early hours of the morning and was caught several hours later, but not before it had injured a local politician and two media personnel, the police said.

The leopard was finally caught by Forest department personnel at around 10:45 am, an official from Gangapur Road police station said.

The official state: "Local Shiv Sena cooperator Santosh Gaikwad, television news channel cameramen Tabrez Shaikh and Kapil Bhaskar were injured by the leopard. They are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital,"

While Mr Gaikwad was trying to control the large number of people who had assembled to see the rescue efforts, the media personnel were trying to obtain video footage of the animal when it pounced on them, he added.

Forest department officials said it is possible the leopard strayed into Savarkar Nagar from the farms and forested patches in Chandshi area nearby.

The leopard will be released in the wild after mandated formalities in this connection are completed, a Forest department official informed.