A day after a leopard was caught in an upscale residential area in Sector 5 here, panic gripped the residents of Sector 34-44 after sighting of another leopard in the locality.

The UT Police and officials of UT Forest and Wildlife Department received a complaint on Tuesday morning that a leopard was seen moving towards nearby forest area around Sector 34-44 here. Following this, police team reached the spot and made announcements in the sectors urging people to stay indoors.

“Some residents had claimed of sighting a leopard in the area. Pugmarks of a leopard were seen in the area of Sector 34-44 by the team of UT Forest officials. The combing operation by two teams is on in the area to track the leopard,” Debendra Dalai, UT Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden while talking to The Pioneer .

He said that the combing operation will continue till late evening as the leopard could be hidden in the day and may come out in the evening. A drone is also being used to trace the animal, he added

On being asked whether it has been established that pugmarks were of a leopard. Dalai said that the Department is 90 percent sure that the pugmarks are of a leopard. The search is on in nearby forest areas of Sector 34-44, he added

With curfew imposed in the city keeping residents behind closed doors, the animals are happily wandering into the deserted city.

Only a day back, a leopard had strayed into an upscale residential area in Sector 5 here, sending waves of panic in the locality before being trapped by UT Forest Department.   The feline was spotted at a vacant bungalow in Sector 5 by its watchman at 8:30 am following which he alerted the police.

The animal was tranquilized and caught after a five hours long operation undertaken by a team of 15-20 forest officers. The leopard was released in Haryana’s Morni hill area late Monday night.

 The leopard had reportedly entered Sector 5 from Lake Reserve forest, which is near to Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary spreads over an area of about 26 sq km in the catchment area of the Sukhna Lake, which is Chandigarh’s prime tourist spot. Leopards are a frequent visitor to the Sanctuary from forest areas of neighboring Haryana.

About three days back, a video of a pair of sambar spotted at a zebra crossing on an empty road that divides Sector 9 and Sector 10 here had went viral.

Notably, an indefinite curfew was imposed in the city on March 24 to ensure social distancing and combat the spread of COVID-19 here.