Rampur, Nov 4 (IANS): A leopard that terrorised the residents of Arsal Parsal village in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur district was finally caught by forest officials after a massive search operation that lasted 45 days.

The leopard was first spotted by a villager in September. Later, its frequent sightings led to fear and panic among the residents of the area.

The forest department had sounded an alert and started combing operations.

After several attempts, the leopard was caught.

Forest officials said that the big cat will be released into the forest area in Bijnor district after medical examination.

In September, it was a CCTV camera grab procured from the farmhouse of Satnam Singh, the village head, that confirmed the presence of the animal in the area.

DFO, Rajiv Kumar, said that "villagers had been living under constant fear and had even stop going to their fields. After medical examination, the leopard will be released into the protected forest area in Bijnor district".