Leopard which entered Maruti's Manesar plant caught after over 30 hours

Gurgaon: A leopard which entered Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant on Thursday morning was captured after over 30 hours on Friday. The big cat found roaming inside the plant's engine department prompting authorities to cordon off the area and launch a search operation.

The morning shift of the factory on Thursday had to be suspended for safety reasons. The production in the plant resumed in the second and third shifts partially while the leopard remained hidden in the engine department, which is spread over 12-16 acres of land.

Wild Life Conservator Vinod Kumar said that seven-eight teams of the wildlife department had cordoned off the area. Two iron cages had been brought and goats had been tied to lure the leopard. "The leopard is hiding behind a machine which is used for assembling car engines. It is difficult to move the machine. We are also throwing crackers to force the wild cat out of its hiding," the conservator said. 

The MSPL is an engine assembling unit of the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) spread over 600 acres adjacent to the Aravalli mountain range in Manesar.

MSIL worker's union president Kuldeep Jhangu said when the guards raised alarm on seeing the big cat, it entered the main engine assembling facility of the