Leopard still untraceable: Ghaziabad District magistrate seeks conclusion report in two days

The Ghaziabad district magistrate (DM) on Friday has sought a report from the forest department about the status on the search for the leopard that was spotted in Raj Nagar on November 24 and untraceable ever since. The DM said that he has the officials two days to answer whether the animal has left the area or not.

The animal was spotted at the official residence of the vice-chairperson of Ghaziabad development authority on Tuesday morning.

“I have given the forest department two days to give conclusion whether the animal is present in the area or left. Further, they have also been asked to give status of the search. People in nearby localities are afraid and we need to assuage them,” said DM Ajay Shankar Pandey.

On Friday, a video on social media showed a leopard on the boundary walls of a building. The video was shared widely particularly among Ghaziabad residents. It was later found that it was in Nainital.

“That created panic among residents. They are afraid to go for a walk. We have no answers from the officials on whether the animal is still in the area,” said Ajay Sharma, Sanjay Nagar councillor.

“Residents cannot keep waiting for days to get reply and need to know the status of the animal,” said Colonel (retired) TP Tyagi, president of flat owners’ federation.

District magistrate said that he has directed action against those who shared the video of the animal.

“We also deployed drone and also carried out search at the school and nearby areas but the animal could not be traced so far. It seems that it has left the area and probably strayed here from areas like Muradnagar or Dadri. Our teams comprising of about 30 personnel are still searching but we have not come across any trace that preyed some other animal during the stay. It seems that it has left the area,” said Ganga Prasad, conservator of forests (Meerut).