Even as news of the big cat near the actor's bungalow in Goregaon scared residents, forest officials were unable to find any; concluded it had returned to the jungle
Even as news of the big cat near the actor's bungalow in Goregaon scared residents, forest officials were unable to find any; concluded it had returned to the jungle
Among the millions of fans she may have had, the Dream Girl could not have imagined being stalked by this one. A leopard trespassed the premises of Hema Malini's bungalow at Gokuldham Area in Goregaon East in the wee hours of Friday.
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The drama to rescue it ended after a search team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) reached the area at 11 am, over five hours after the sighting, and were unable to spot the big cat. They concluded that it must have strayed back into the adjacent jungle just as easily as it had let itself out.
Hema Malini's bungalow at Gokuldham in Goregaon East where a leopard was spotted yesterday. The actress is on vacation in the US with her daughters. Her secretary confirmed that the animal had strayed into the garden of the house
Around 4.30 am, watchman Umesh Pratap Singh posted at the gate of a bungalow in the area saw something streak down the street. "I was sitting in my cabin when I saw a huge animal run down the road. I did not know what it was.
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After half an hour it came back and I was shocked to see that it was a full-grown leopard."
He continued, "It halted at the gate for less than a minute and jumped over the boundary wall of another bungalow, then leapt over the boundary of Hema Malini's bungalow. I closed the door of my cabin and sat inside without making any noise."
Singh did not get out of his cabin until half an hour later to call the police. They reached the spot and informed the buildings in the vicinity to immediately contact them if they spot a leopard.
By 8 am, the news that a leopard had entered the premises of Hema Malini's residence spread and in no time people gathered outside the area.
Police officials were following the guidelines mentioned in the Human Leopard Conflict Management, which talk about crowd management, and keeping people at a safe distance from the place of the sighting.
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A wild life activist present at the spot said, "At 5 am, the leopard was spotted in the area but still the forest department official of SGNP which is 20 minutes away, did not reach the spot until over five hours later. It seems that they are not serious about the issue."
When this correspondent contacted a senior forest official at 9.30 am, an official said, "We have not received any complaint till now and we cannot comment."
The SGNP forest department team reached the spot at about 11 am.
It was headed by Deputy Forest Officer (Vigilance) DJ Anarse of Thane Circe along with Deepak Sawant, superintendent of Lion and Tiger Safari of SGNP, Veterinary Doctor of SGNP Vinaya Jangale, and other officials. At around 1 pm the search operation ended.
Anarse said, "After checking all possible hideouts for two hours, we have concluded that the leopard must have ventured back into his natural habitat."
Jangale, who was part of the rescue team, said, "We have checked the premises of Hema Malini's bungalow and the adjoining buildings and are unable to spot a leopard.
As there is green cover just behind the bungalow the leopard must have gone back into the jungle. Residents here should be careful and if they spot a leopard, the y should contact the forest department."
Expertspeak
Krishna Tiwari, Project Head (Forest) of Bombay Natural History Society, said, "It is good that the leopard returned to the forest on its own and no human being was injured.
There have been instances where leopards had entered human territory by mistake. If any one spots leopard in the area then they should contact the forest department so it is rescued safely and released into its natural habitat."
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