Kathmandu, October 23:

Five persons, including two policemen, were injured when a leopard attacked them at Pokharelmarg, Maligaon, early this morning.

Incidents of leopard attacking people are not uncommon in the valley but spotting a leopard in the heart of the city is something unusual.

The animal was first spotted on the premises of the house owned by Padma Devi Dhungana.

It attacked Padma and ran into the house of Rebati Raman Pokharel, locals said.

“Police and official from the Central Zoo reached the spot immediately and later spotted

the hiding beast when it tried to attack a dog,” Anuj Pokharel, a local said.

Central Zoo officials fired tranquiliser at the animal from the premises of the house owned by former prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa but the dart failed to have its effect on the

animal and the leopard instead started running frantically.

“The injured leopard attacked people and injured Prakash KC, Kanchha KC and two policemen,” Basanta Rajaure, inspector at the Metropolitan Police Sector, Kamalpkhari, said. The police then fired six rounds at the wild cat.

The beast fell down on the premises of the house owned by Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Laba Prasad Tripati, but again tried to attack locals who had flocked around to see if the leopard was really dead.

“A terrorised local then hacked the dying animal with a khukuri,” Rajaure added.

The wild cat was first spotted at around 7 am and it took some three-and-a-half hours to kill it.