Sarvanand Notiyal (55), a resident of Devdarshan colony, who first spotted the animal said, ``As I was about to enter the temple at around 6.15 am I saw the big cat.'' He ran out to alert his neighbours.

With the help of three more neighbours he picked up an old iron gate and slammed it against the temple entrance ensuring that the leopard does not escape. The forest authorities arrived at 10 am and tranquilised the animal before transporting it to Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

According to Forest Conservator D D Jadhav, the leopard was a three-year-old male. ``It must have drifted into the colony in search of water,'' and denied the involvement of this animal in the recent attacks on residents of Wagle estate.