Jaipur, Jul 14 (IANS): Five people were badly injured in a leopard attack in a village near Jaipur city early on Thursday, officials said.

Such was the gravity of the attack that a man was quite badly mauled. It took four hours for the rescue team that reached the spot to to tranquilise and capture the big cat.

Officials said that the animal continued attacking people due to anger and fear.

The Forest Department team said that at around 3 a.m., the leopard attacked five people, including a child, in Chandwaji near Jaipur city. All injured were admitted to the SMS Hospital and a private hospital in Jaipur.

Officials said that the leopard initially entered Chandwaji village where it attacked a family. The animal first attacked 10-year-old David Meena, who was sleeping with his parents, and his parents Sajna Devi, 38, and father Ramphool Meena, 44, who came to save him. Meena's had was badly chewed and Sajna Devi's head and back seriously injured in its paw attacks.

When the people of the village tried to ward it by making noise, the animal entered Apex University premises, where it attacked watchman Mukesh Meena, 35, and another person, Govind Kumar, 35.

As information reached the authorities, the Forest Department team reached the spot at around 3.30 a.m. and started the rescue operation. The leopard was tranquilised at around 7.30 a.m.

Dr Arvind Mathur of the team said that as construction work was going on in the university, the animal hid behind wooden logs on the third floor. Due to this, it took a long time before the team could find and tranquilise him. The animal, which was also injured, was brought to the Nahargarh Biological Park, where it will be treated and released into the forest.