A peaceful Monday morning in Rajasthan took a terrifying turn when a full-grown male leopard sprinted nearly 400 meters through a crowded marketplace, leapt over a retail counter, and launched an attack on a shop worker.
CCTV footage captured the entire ordeal inside a liquor store in Todaraisingh, a town in the Tonk district of Rajasthan. The viral video shows the big cat vaulting over a counter and mauling 25-year-old salesman Sanjay Gurjar, who fought back desperately to save his life. The predator eventually retreated under a wooden table, giving shopkeepers time to pull down the steel shutter and trap the wild animal inside until a specialized rescue team arrived.
While the video sparked shock across social media, the incident points to a much larger issue. Urban expansion and habitat loss are forcing wild predators into heavily populated towns across India.
How a Quiet Morning in Todaraisingh Turned into Chaos
The incident unfolded on July 20, 2026, shortly after local market stalls opened for the day near SBI Chauraha in Todaraisingh town.
The adult male leopard, estimated to be four to five years old, had strayed from the surrounding forest hills into the town's outskirts. Forest department volunteer Rakesh Mali was among the first to notice the animal hiding in nearby bushes. When he approached to investigate, the leopard panicked. It bit Mali on the leg and bolted down the main street toward the busy market.
Panic spread quickly.
As the leopard charged down the road, it encountered 40-year-old Fateh Lal Koli sitting outside the alcohol shop. The big cat lunged at him before darting straight through the open storefront doors.
Inside the Liquor Store: A Battle for Survival Captured on CCTV
Sanjay Gurjar was behind the counter checking daily cash registers when he heard commotion outside. Within seconds, the leopard breached the entrance.
The security camera footage shows the sequence in stark detail:
- The Entry: The leopard leaps cleanly over the wooden sales counter without hesitation.
- The Struggle: It pounces on Gurjar, clawing at his back, shoulders, and face. Gurjar pushes back, grappling with the 100-pound predator in a narrow aisle surrounded by spirit bottles.
- The Escape: Gurjar breaks free from the leopard's grip and sprints out the front door, leaving the disoriented big cat trapped in the rear of the shop.
- The Containment: Quick-thinking locals immediately pulled down the store's heavy metal shutter from the outside, locking the wild animal in.
Both Gurjar and Koli suffered serious injuries. Gurjar sustained deep claw lacerations across his face, back, and hands. Local emergency crews rushed both men to a regional medical facility in Tonk for specialized treatment. Rakesh Mali received first aid for his leg injuries at a local clinic.
Five Hours Trapped Inside: How Wildlife Rescuers Secured the Predator
With the leopard locked inside, hundreds of onlookers gathered outside the shop. Police units quickly set up barricades to control the growing crowd and secure the perimeter.
Inside the dark store, the leopard paced back and forth, knocking over bottles of alcohol before taking shelter beneath a office desk.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Anurag Maharshi led the local response alongside Deputy Conservator Virender Singh Krishniya. Realizing the danger of attempting a capture in such a tight space, local authorities requested emergency support from the Jaipur Zoo's tranquilizer unit.
The multi-agency operation took five hours:
- Securing the Market: Police cleared surrounding streets and shut down nearby stores to prevent public panic.
- Setting Up the Tranquilizer Line: Specialists from Jaipur created an opening through the storefront shutter to locate the cat safely.
- Darting the Animal: Veterinary officers darted the leopard with a sedative.
- Medical Inspection: Once unconscious, the team transferred the animal into a transport cage and moved it to the Tonk Forest Division office for health checks.
Veterinary teams confirmed the five-year-old male suffered no major injuries during the incident. Officials planned to release him back into a protected sanctuary area away from human settlement once cleared by doctors. Senior rescue officers noted that while leopard captures occur regularly in rural Rajasthan, pulling a wild big cat out of a retail booze shop was unprecedented in their careers.
The Real Problem Behind Leopards Wandering into Urban Markets
This attack was not an isolated event. It represents a growing pattern of human-wildlife encounters across India.
India's leopard population has expanded in recent years. Official figures from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change show the national leopard population rose from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022. While conservation efforts have helped boost numbers, suburban housing developments and industrial corridors are rapidly encircling historical big cat habitats.
When natural prey becomes scarce or natural corridors get blocked by concrete roads, young male leopards wander into towns looking for stray dogs, livestock, or water.
Key Factors Driving Urban Encroachment
- Shrinking Buffer Zones: Forest borders now abut residential streets directly, eliminating natural buffer areas.
- High Adaptability: Leopards are intelligent and nocturnal. They adapt to human presence far better than tigers or lions.
- Easy Food Sources: Garbage dumps and free-roaming stray animals draw wild carnivores into suburban centers at night.
In fact, just two weeks prior to the Todaraisingh incident, another stray leopard attacked a food delivery driver in Madhya Pradesh. As towns expand into jungle borders, these encounters will keep happening unless local urban planning adapts.
Essential Safety Steps When Encountering Wild Big Cats in Human Settlements
Living near wildlife zones requires clear knowledge of how to react when a predator strays into human space. Wildlife experts from the Wildlife Institute of India recommend specific steps during a big cat sighting.
What to Do During an Encounter
- Maintain Eye Contact Without Staring Aggressively: Never turn your back on a leopard. Back away slowly while keeping the animal in your field of vision.
- Make Yourself Look Bigger: Raise your arms above your head or wave a jacket to appear larger than you are.
- Create Loud Noise: Bang metal objects, clap, or shout firmly to intimidate the animal.
- Avoid Running: Running triggers a predator's chase instinct. Stand your ground unless you have an immediate escape path into a secure building.
- Contain the Threat Safely: If the animal enters an empty room or building, lock doors or pull down shutters from the outside without confronting it directly, just as the bystanders did in Todaraisingh.
Local authorities in Tonk have urged residents near forest boundaries to report unusual animal movements immediately to forest department helplines rather than attempting to chase or capture wild animals themselves.
