Bhanjanagar: Panic gripped the residents of Naguda-Manitara area under Buguda forest range here in Ganjam district following an alert by the forest department regarding movement of a leopard in the region.
Sources said the locals noticed the animal stuck in a trap laid in a hollow of a mountain on the outskirts of the village.
People informed the forest officials who rushed to the spot to rescue the animal. The officials found that the animal forcefully broke the trap and then escaped.
The officials have launched an operation to locate the leopard. They said that it might have sustained injuries and must be roaming in the nearest forest.
They suspect that some miscreants might have laid the trap to poach wild boars, in which the leopard got trapped.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)