Malappuram: Fear gripped coastal regions of Malappuram district after some people spotted a leopard straying into residential areas. The first case of leopard sighting was reported from Pookkayil Thumarakkavu near Tirur on Tuesday noon. The second case was reported from Tanur on Wednesday night around 11 pm.

Trauma care volunteer Abbas has reported that he had seen the leopard while going on his bike to buy medicine for his child.  

"I am sure that I have seen the leopard.  I wrongly applied only the front brake of my bike and fell down from the vehicle.  It has moved slowly from the road hearing my outcry", Abbas, who had seen the leopard said.

A child has also come up with the claim of spotting a leopard on Wednesday morning at the same place.  Tanur police reached the spot soon and looked for the animal for half an hour.  

In Thumarakkavu, three persons travelling in an autorickshaw claimed they had seen the animal that was dragging a dog. The police and the local body representatives reached the place soon. Though they conducted a search in the nearby places they failed to find the leopard.

One of the persons living nearby has also claimed that he had a glimpse of the animal a few days back.

“The residents here are in panic. It is the first time we are going through such a situation. I have warned the people living around to take the safety measures and stay in their homes”, Prasanna, the ward councillor said.  

Meanwhile, a Rapid Response Team of Forest conducted a detailed inspection of the area on Wednesday morning at Pookkayil.

"We have searched for the pug marks from the region but have not found anything suspicious.  In our inspection, there was no such clue about the presence of a leopard in the region.  There might be chances that the persons may have misled with a leopard cat", the RRT team told Onmanorama.

The team will also conduct an inspection at Tanur where another case of leopard sighting is reported.