Leopard Sighting Creates Panic in Jaipur Neighborhoods
A leopard has been creating panic among residents in multiple areas of Jaipur, with consecutive sightings in residential neighborhoods over the past two days. The big cat was first spotted in Vidhyadhar Nagar on Wednesday, followed by another sighting in Sikar House locality near Shastri Nagar on Thursday before sunrise.
CCTV Evidence and Search Operations
Security cameras captured clear footage of the leopard roaming near Sikar House, where it was seen crossing a road in Kalyan Colony and walking on the rooftop of a house. The CCTV footage from Thursday morning provided crucial evidence of the animal's movement through residential areas.
Forest department teams immediately launched a search operation around a plot in C-Block, Sikar House, after reviewing the CCTV recordings. However, despite extensive efforts, the teams were unable to trace the leopard's current location.
Additional Conservator of Forest Devendra Singh confirmed, "Our teams are continuously tracking the leopard's movement patterns, but we haven't found any footprints or physical evidence so far. The CCTV footage from last night remains our only confirmation of the animal's presence in the area."
Resident Concerns and Safety Measures
The forest department has circulated contact numbers throughout the locality and advised residents to remain extremely alert. People have been instructed to report any unusual movement or sighting immediately to the authorities.
Local residents reported that continuous barking of dogs around 6am on Thursday initially alerted people to something unusual. However, when they stepped out to investigate, they saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was only after reviewing security camera footage that the leopard's presence became confirmed, prompting immediate notification to forest officials.
Sunil Meena, a resident of Sikar House, expressed the community's growing anxiety: "This is the time when many elderly people go for morning walks and children play outside. Having a leopard in our neighborhood poses significant risk, and we urge authorities to rescue the animal and release it back into the forest immediately."
Forest officials suspect the leopard may have strayed from the Nahargarh forest area into the residential neighborhood and possibly returned toward the hills early in the morning. This incident comes just two days after another leopard killed a tethered calf in Vidyadhar Nagar Sector-10 around 2am on Tuesday, which was also captured on CCTV cameras.
