Leopard enters Gujarat Secretariat campus, search operation on
A leopard sneaked inside the premises of the high-security Gujarat Government Secretariat in Gandhinagar in early hours today, prompting the Forest Department to launch a search operation for the feline. The secretariat, or Sachivalaya, 27.8kms away from Ahmedabad, the state capital, houses the offices of Gujarat Chief Minister and Chief Secretary, besides those of other ministers, senior bureaucrats and government departments. Here's more.
Employees, officials have been asked not to enter the complex
Secretariat employees and officials have been asked not to enter the complex till the wild animal is captured. CCTV footage shared by the authorities showed the leopard sneaking into the complex, which also houses the Assembly building, from beneath a locked gate at around 2AM. On learning about the presence of the leopard in the premises, the State Forest Department started a search operation.
'Leopard may have lost its way and entered the premises'
"The leopard may have lost its way and entered the premises. We will either catch him or make sure he leaves the complex," said Rajeev Gupta, Additional Chief-Secretary, Forest Department, adding leopards are part of wildlife found in 40 to 50 square km area surrounding Gandhinagar. "We have deployed senior officers along with teams having tranquilizer guns for the operation," he informed.
