Bhopal, Oct 4 (PTI) Panic gripped the campus of Bhopal's Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) amid reports that a tiger was spotted in the area, though the forest department is yet to identify the species.

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The forest department has installed cameras on the campus and also put up a cage.

Bhopal's Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Alok Pathak has confirmed the presence of an animal on the campus but it is yet to be known whether the animal was a leopard or a tiger.

Pathak told PTI he had received information on Monday late at night about the presence of the big cat inside the campus and it was found that it had attacked a cow.

About 6,000 students study on the campus where residences of staffers and hostels are also located, he said.

Security personnel, students, and residents are being counselled to not panic, he said.

The DFO said cameras were installed to catch the image of the animal and pads were put up to register pugmarks.

A cage was also put up on the campus, he said and added a team of forest department personnel is keeping a vigil.

Meanwhile, MANIT management issued a circular asking students and staffers to be alert as an animal has been spotted on the campus.

They are advised not to roam in the areas having dense forestation on the campus, the circular said.

Earlier last week, there were reports about the presence of a tiger near Kaliasot Dam, located about one km from the MANIT campus, a large part of which is surrounded by residential areas.

(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)