Jaisalmer: Recurring sightings of a leopard spread panic among residents in Sedwa Kala villageof Balotra.On Monday evening, a leopard attacked a gathering of people and subsequently concealed itself in a room within the Mandli police station area. Upon the leopard’s sighting by Balotra locals, alarm was raised, leading to the animal injuring three individuals.It then escaped through a goat shed towards Bharat Mala road. The three injured parties were transported to hospital, while a forest department team from Jodhpur was called to capture the leopard. This particular leopard was reported in the refinery region for the preceding 15 days.Umrao Singh, ranger of Balotra forest department, stated that on Monday, the room where the leopard hid was without a door and had two open windows. The team was awaiting a tranquiliser gun and lacked wooden planks to simultaneously secure both doors and windows. At around 10pm on Monday, the leopard exited the room. Teams from Balotra, Barmer, and Jodhpur tracked its paw prints towards Bharat Mala (Balotra), and the search operation persisted on Tuesday in the vicinity. This leopard is believed to be the same seen in the refinery zone over the past month and a half, with ongoing efforts to locate and capture it.Eyewitness Gautam Chand Jeengar recounted that at approximately 5pm on Monday, the leopard was first observed at the bus stand opposite Kalaram Bheel’s hut in Rodwa Kala village,Balotra district. Upon the leopard’s sighting, villagers raised the alarm, prompting it to flee the hut for the goat shed. During this, two brothers, Shankarram and Hukmaram—sons of Ranarama Bheel from Rodwa Kala—attempted to intervene and were clawed by the leopard, sustaining injuries. Another youth, Ranarama, suffered minor scratches. All three were taken to Mandli Government Hospital for initial medical aid. Police and the forest department were informed, and the Mandli police team attended the area at 6pm.
