It has been more than a week but the forest department is yet to catch the big cat who is believed to be hiding in and around Vasai Fort. The residents are still reeling under constant fear of facing a leopard attack.

Though all the forest officials are tightlipped, sources have told mid-day that officials have intensified their search operation to catch the leopard for which a total of two cages were installed in the area on Saturday.

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“On Saturday, the Forest department has installed two cages to catch the big cat,” said a source who is assisting forest officials in the operation.

The public movement has been strictly restricted, said the source, who added, “Sometimes, people throng near Vasai Fort out of excitement to have a glimpse of a leopard. But this can be fatal as the leopard can attack. So, people are being suggested not to throng around the Vasai fort as it hampers the search operation of forest officials.”

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The big cat is believed to have travelled from the Tungareshwar jungle to the remains of Vasai Fort, where many street dogs and goats of local villagers have been reported to be missing in the last week.

Sources told mid-day that around a dozen forest officials and NGO workers are camping in the area to catch the leopard.

“The officials have installed trap cameras to trace the movements of the leopard. Every alternate day, the big cat is captured in the footage and it is seen coming out of the Vasai Fort,” said Donald Gonsalves, a resident of Vasai.

Residents are hopeful that the big cat will be caught soon.

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