Bihar: Leopard injures several people before capture

Sasaram (Bihar), Dec 3 (PTI) A leopard injured more than half a dozen people before being captured by the forest department in Bihar's Rohtas district on Wednesday, officials said.

The leopard entered the Kochas Nagar panchayat area from the Kaimur hills.

Sasaram Forest Division DFO Stalin Fidal Kumar, "A rescue team launched an operation that continued for several hours before the wild animal was finally caught from an under-construction house." The DFO said that the leopard has been shifted to the Sasaram forest range, where a team of experts would provide medical care.

Once fully recovered, it will be released into the wild as per protocol, he added.

"During the rescue operation, four personnel sustained injuries, but all are stable and out of danger," Kumar said.

Eyewitnesses said that the leopard was first spotted moving along the Sasaram-Chausa state highway. It reportedly hid in bushes before reaching the outskirts of Kochas.

According to locals, the leopard attacked a man, but as farmers working nearby raised an alarm, it ran away. The leopard later took shelter inside an under-construction house in Islam Nagar.

The leopard attacked and injured several residents, who are currently undergoing treatment at the community health centre. PTI SUK ACD