Lucknow:
An uninvited guest caused huge panic at a wedding in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on Wednesday night. A leopard gate-crashed the wedding of Akshay Srivastava and Jyoti Kumari, forcing guests to run for their lives. The incident took place at the city’s MM Lawn late last night, at 11 pm.
A wedding filled with love, joy and music suddenly transformed into a nightmare as the leopard trotted into the lit-up lawn. Within seconds, there were screams as guests ran out to the road. One guest jumped off the first floor of the venue and suffered injuries.
The bride and groom ran off and locked themselves in a car, an eyewitness said, as reported by news agency PTI.
Forest department officials and the police showed up after an SOS and then began a nearly five-hour-long search.
The leopard was finally found on the first floor, hiding in one of the rooms. As forest department official Muqaddar Ali approached the animal, it leapt and attacked him with its paw. The visuals show the forest officer’s left hand covered in blood.
The operation went on till the leopard was caught around 3:30 in the morning.
Two camerapersons also suffered injuries after they were knocked down in the mad scramble to escape the wedding venue, reports say.
After the unexpected overnight pause, the wedding rituals resumed the next morning.
