Noida, January 3: The forest department launched a search and rescue operation Tuesday after a leopard was spotted inside a group housing society in Greater Noida (West), officials said. The sighting of a leopard triggered panic among the residents of the Ajnara Le Garden society in Sector 16 of Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension

While the team of Gautam Buddh Nagar forest department rushed to the spot in the afternoon, experts from Meerut were also roped in for the task later in the day, according to an official.

A similar leopard alert was issued by the society exactly one week ago when on December 27 the society's maintenance department informed the residents about a feline's suspected presence on the premises and urged them to avoid outdoor ventures and take caution. Leopard Sighted at Ajnara Le Garden Society in Greater Noida, Rescue Operation Underway (Watch Video).

Leopard Found in Basement of Greater Noida Society

"The department got an alert from the Ajnara Le Garden society this afternoon that a leopard has been spotted in the basement of one of the under-construction towers in the society. Our team immediately reached the spot and launched the search operation to rescue the leopard,” Divisional Forest Officer Pramod Kumar Srivastava said.

Leopard Spotted At Ajnara Le Garden Residential Society In Greater Noida

The society has around 16 residential towers of which five to six are under-construction. The big cat has been spotted by society workers in one of the under-construction towers' basement and a couple of blurred pictures of the leopard have also emerged, according to a resident of Ajnara Le Garden.

By evening, a team of forest department from Meerut was also engaged in the search and rescue operation, the resident said.

"We got a one-line message from the society's maintenance this afternoon that a leopard has been spotted in the society and we have been asked to stay indoors,” Mukesh Gupta, a society resident, told PTI. Leopard's Carcass Found with Bullet Injuries in Punjab's Rupnagar.

He said fear has gripped society residents and those working there. He said a security guard had on Sunday evening also claimed spotting a leopard but the information was not entertained by the locals and junked as rumour.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)