Panic grips Greater Noida society over claims of leopard in area

Noida: Panic set in among residents of a Greater Noida society early Tuesday when some people raised an alarm claiming to have spotted a leopard in the vicinity, a senior official said. The forest department has launched a search.

However, the searches have not yielded anything so far and it appears to be a false alarm, the official said.

"We got a call at 10.10 am informing us about a leopard being spotted in Greater Noida (West). By 10.30 am, our teams had reached the spot and started a search for the leopard," Divisional Forest Officer Pramod Kumar Srivastava told PTI.

"However, on the basis of our searches and inspection so far, it appears to be a false alarm. Still, our teams are at work," Srivastava added.

Security guards at the Ajnara Le Garden group housing society alerted residents about the possible sighting of a leopard in the area and urged them to be careful when venturing out after some people in the locality claimed to have seen the feline.

At the society, panic was palpable. "Right now, the search operation by the forest department is underway," Mukesh Gupta, a resident, told PTI at 11.30 am.

"We got a notice from the maintenance department of our society informing us of this finding. The notice also suggested that we take caution while venturing out," he said.