The forest department in Karnataka's Mysuru launched a combing operation after a leopard was spotted in tech giant Infosys campus on Tuesday early morning. Soon after the clamouring development, the employees of the IT company were asked to work from home keeping the safety aspect in mind.
The officials said that the leopard was sighted in the underground car parking area of the campus by the security guard at around 3:30 am. The analysis of the CCTV footage has also confirmed the same, officials added.
Combing operation has been launched by a team of 50 personnel, with cages and nets on standby to capture the big cat. A senior forest officer said, "A leopard was spotted inside the Infosys campus and our personnel are on the job. Combing operation has been launched and drones are also being used to spot the leopard."
Forest minister assures capturing big cat
Meanwhile, Eshwar Khandre, Karnataka Forest Minister assured that the forest department staff will soon capture the leopard and allay people's fears. In a statement, he said, "As soon as the matter was known, a leopard task force was sent to capture the leopard. The team includes veterinarians and 40 personnel trained in leopard capture. Officers from the Wildlife Department are also at the site and are supervising the operation."
As per the statement, the leopard's movement was captured in the CCTV footage, and an emergency operation was ordered. "The Infosys campus is about 350 acres, some parts of which are like a forest. The operation is underway. Steps have also been taken to prevent the leopard from entering residential areas nearby. A drone equipped with a thermal camera is also being used to locate the leopard," he added.
(with inputs from agencies)
