Forest officials in Uttar Pradesh were surprised when a large metal cage intended to catch a leopard ended up trapping a local man instead. The video of the incident, which took place on Thursday night in the Bahraich district, has since gone viral on social media.
The trap had been placed on the outskirts of a village bordering the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. The action was taken after a 55-year-old woman, Shanti Devi, was killed in a leopard attack on Wednesday evening. A goat had been tied inside the cage as bait for the big cat.
The unexpected "catch" was identified as Pradeep, a resident of the village. Pradeep was allegedly drunk when he decided to enter the trap meant for the leopard.
As soon as he stepped inside the cage, the automatic door mechanism activated and slammed shut, locking him securely inside the animal trap.
There are conflicting accounts as to why the man entered the cage:
Officials suspected that Pradeep may have been trying to steal the goat used as bait. While pulling the animal or attempting to enter, the trap door closed. But, Pradeep explained that he was simply "checking on the situation" when he suddenly became dizzy and got trapped.
Once trapped, the man shouted for help and managed to use his mobile phone to contact nearby villagers. The village head was immediately informed and subsequently called the Forest Department and the police.
A joint team of forest officials and police officers rushed to the location. It took nearly two hours for the team to safely extract the man from the metal cage.
