Nashik Leopard Panic: Four-Hour Chase Leaves Five Injured, Forest Officials Among Victims
Nashik Leopard Panic: Four-Hour Chase Leaves Five Injured, Forest Officials Among Victims
Nashik witnessed a dramatic and fear-filled afternoon on Friday when a young male leopard strayed deep into the city, triggering chaos across multiple residential pockets of Gangapur. What began as a routine day quickly turned into a tense wildlife rescue operation, stretching nearly four hours and leaving five people— including forest officials — injured.
The first sighting was reported around 2:55 pm in Gangasagar Society at Gurukul Colony, where residents spotted the two-year-old leopard wandering through the area. Startled by the crowd, the big cat darted into the empty Dixit bungalow. Before officials could intervene, the animal bolted toward the nearby Shivlok Apartment and then rushed into a school campus. As panic spread and people began shouting, the leopard escaped once again, this time into the Asha Pan Tapari stall.
Forest Department teams soon arrived and attempted to trap the animal using a net. However, the first attempt went awry when the leopard lunged at an officer, injuring him before sprinting away. The animal’s path of escape led it through Municipal School No. 17 in Kamgar Nagar, then into Guruprasad Colony and finally toward Taramangal Colony. Officials tried a second net-capture there, but the leopard attacked another officer—identified along with the first as Santosh Bodake and Praveen Golait.
As the animal continued to flee, trained shooters from the Forest Department finally managed to fire a tranquiliser dart, which struck accurately. Even after being hit, the leopard continued moving until it collapsed in the bushes behind Taramangal Society. Rescue teams searched the area, secured the unconscious leopard in a cage and transported it to a safe facility. Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan, who happened to be in Nashik, rushed to the scene and remained present until the animal was fully captured. He also witnessed one of the attacks during the rescue effort.
Nashik: Leopard Creates 4-Hour Terror In Gangapur; Injures Five, Including Forest Officials pic.twitter.com/p4B4SwQNdI
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All five injured individuals were taken to the hospital for immediate treatment. Four of them are stable, while one forest guard with facial injuries is expected to undergo surgery, according to Sumit Nirmal, Range Forest Officer of the Nashik West Division. Officials explained that the leopard likely ventured into the city while searching for prey and kept moving erratically due to noise and human activity. After being tranquilised, the animal was shifted to the Forest Department’s transit treatment centre in Mhasrul on Nashik’s outskirts.
Friday’s incident adds to a growing list of leopard intrusions in Nashik over recent years. This marks the sixth case in seven years. In November 2023, a male and female leopard were rescued from Savatanagar and Govindnagar, only 4 km apart. Earlier that same year, in July 2023, another leopard injured a man on Jai Bhavani Road before slipping back into the forest at Deolali Camp. In January 2022, a leopard roaming the same locality injured a senior resident and was caught after a seven-hour pursuit. The city also witnessed leopard rescues in Ayesha Nagar in November 2022 and Savarkar Nagar in January 2019—both incidents involving attacks and lengthy operations by the Forest Department.
The latest encounter has renewed anxiety among residents, especially after two consecutive days of leopard sightings. Authorities have issued an alert urging people to avoid walking alone at night and to stay vigilant until the situation stabilises.
