Leopard enters Amravati godown, locals in a tizzy

Amravati: Panic swept through Amravati's crowded Rampuri camp area Tuesday after a leopard was spotted inside a godown, triggering a 3-hour rescue op involving forest officials, police, and civic teams.The big cat was first seen on Tuesday noon by a worker at a godown owned by mayor Shrichand Tejwani, but currently rented out. The servant spotted the leopard as soon as the shutter was opened and alerted the mayor. Forest officials, police, and the Amravati Municipal Corporation's veterinary team rushed to the site.As word spread, hundreds of residents gathered at the spot. Locals claimed the leopard had strayed into a nearby shop, which was then shuttered to stop it from escaping. Police had to deploy heavy security to control the crowd.The operation was led by RFO Pradeep Bhad with foresters Shyam Deshmukh, Firoz Khan, Amol Gaoner, Baburao Kherkar, and Gajanan Lande. Forest guards, municipal veterinary officer Dr Sachin Bondre, and wildlife volunteers including Nilesh Kanchanpure of Wildlife Awareness, Research and Rescue Welfare Society assisted. Gadge Nagar police led by PI Gorakhnath Jadhav managed crowd control.After evading teams for nearly three hours, the leopard was finally tranquilized and captured around 6:30 pm from a closed country liquor shop. It was shifted to Wadali forest dept for examination.