LUCKNOW: The guests expected a grand spectacle – but not one with claws and fangs. A shadow slinked in under glow of fairy lights at nutritionist Akshay Srivastava and Jyoti Kumari’s wedding in Lucknow’s Para area Wednesday night. It wasn’t a monkeyshine. It was a leopard.
A guest gasped, another shrieked, and suddenly, the entire party became a stampede of silk and sherwanis. “The leopard entered the lawn from behind a tent around 8.30pm. The guests thought it was a prank or a stray dog,” DCP Vishwajeet Srivastava said.
The uninvited guest leapt onto the rooftop – a cat on a hot tin roof in the most literal sense. Police and forest officials arrived, armed with tranquiliser darts, two thermal drones, a transport cage, and protective gear. The wedding was put on pause. The bride and groom were whisked away.
DFO Sitanshu Pandey took charge, with his team of two veterinary doctors, four tranquiliser experts, and 10 forest guards. But before the cat could be bagged, it had one last trick up its spotted sleeve. When forest guard Muqaddar Ali got too close, the leopard lunged. A flash of claws, a sharp cry – Ali staggered back, his right hand slashed.
Ali was rushed for medical attention and the mission resumed with renewed caution. The first tranquiliser seemed to have no effect. A second did the trick, sending it into a drowsy surrender. “We trapped the animal using a net, and secured it in a cage,” Pandey said after a tense 200-minute-long operation. The mood shifted from terror to triumph. Guests cheered, phones emerged for victory selfies. The bride and groom exchanged garlands.