Ghandinagar(Gujarat)/Nov,5: A leopard sneaked inside the premises of the high-security Gujarat government secretariat in Gandhinagar early morning Monday, prompting the Forest Department to launch a search operation for the feline, said a media report .
The secretariat, or Sachivalaya, in the state capital near here houses the offices of Gujarat chief minister and chief secretary, besides those of other ministers, senior bureaucrats and government departments.
Secretariat employees and officials have been asked not to enter the complex, which also houses the assembly building, till the wild animal is captured.
CCTV footage shared by the authorities showed the leopard sneaking into the Sachivalaya complex from beneath a locked gate at around 2 am.
On learning about the presence of the leopard in the premises, the state forest department started a search operation.
“The leopard may have lost its way and entered into the premises. We will either catch him or make sure he leaves the complex.
“We have deployed senior officers along with teams having tranquiliser guns for the operation,” said Rajeev Kumar Gupta, additional chief secretary, Forest Department.
He said leopards are part of wildlife found in 40 to 50 square km area surrounding the state capital.
On situation and militancy the Governor said:
“No new recruitment was held, no major incident of stone pelting was happened since I joined. It was possible because I address all with honesty and accept own mistakes too. The entire municipality election was violence free and I think our polices make a mark because as per my understanding militancy is not with weapon but in mind, we successfully tried to tell this to people violence don’t get you anything but dialogue will.”
“If four-six months people give us time I am hopeful that peace and dialogue is possible,” he said.