Udaipur : A leopard strayed into Fateh Prakash of the City Palace complex, residence of the erstwhile royal family situated in densely populated location under police station adjoining Samor Bagh late night on Sunday here. After 22 hours the leopard was tranquilized after it came out of the store room and got inside the cage laid by the forest department.
The department has laid a cage with a goat tied inside to trap the beast. The animal reportedly got inside the palace area around 12.30 am and the forest department was immediately informed that took over the entire area under its control. Tourists and staff entry was completely prohibited since morning while forest officials and local police team kept watch over the leopard’s movement minute by minute. The leopard is hidden inside a store room situated on a narrow lane and so it is difficult for the experts to make attempt to tranquilize it, sources said. Cages have been laid at probable few places where the leopard could enter, they said.
Palace sources claimed there have been leopard movement in the area for an year now as a family including two cubs were spotted several times near the Rampole of Dhoodh Talai area by several people. Few weeks back, the mother cat and two kids were seen sitting under the cable car of the Karni Mata ropeway too. Forest officials said the leopard that sneaked inside the palace seems to be an adult whose roars can be heard from inside the room.
The Hotel Fateh Prakash is presently being managed by the Taj group and the security is completely taken care by them. Forest officials have sought CCTV footage of the area to find the route from where the big cat sneaked inside. As the scaring news of the leopard getting inside the palace spread, people were anxious to know the updates of it being caught.