The leopard that terrorised Kannur city hides in the bushes after attacking a youth at Thaytheruvu on Sunday.
The leopard that terrorised Kannur city hides in the bushes after attacking a youth at Thaytheruvu on Sunday.
A leopard which appeared near Thayatheru railway gate near Kannur railway station on Sunday brought the city into the grip of fear after it prowled on the residential areas and injured four people. A team from the forest department, aided by personnel from the police, revenue and fire and safety departments, later caught the big cat after tranquilising it.

A man who was seriously injured in the leopard attack was shifted to Kozhikode Government Medical College while three others, including an Odisha-native, were admitted in Kannur district hospital.

The leopard was first spotted near a bushy area near the railway gate around 3 pm. As the people and police started a search, it came out and ran towards residential areas and then returned. The efforts of the officials to capture it were hampered when hundreds of people gathered near the railway track to see the operation.

Kannur district collector Mir Muhammed Ali who rushed to the spot imposed Section 144 at Thayatheru and Kasana Kotta in order to avoid accidents as people gathered on the railway track.

Palakkad division of Southern Railways also issued emergency alert to loco pilots to slow down the trains while passing through the spot which is between Kannur Railway station and Thalassery.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, an eyewitness Rijoy Yesuadas said that he sported the leopard in backyard of his house near the Railway gate. "I have heard that earlier also a leopard was spotted in the area which somehow accidentally caught inside a goods train," he added. Kannur I.G. Mahipal Yadav and district police chief G. Siva Vikram are also camping at the place.