‘High-security intrusion’ in RBI Mysuru campus ends as Forest Department captures leopard on the prowl

This is the second time in two months that leopards are in the news in Mysuru having managed to infiltrate high-security and high-profile establishment in the city.

A leopard, which was playing hide and seek with the financial guardians of the nation, was captured near the campus of the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), which is a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that prints Indian currency, in Mysuru on February 28.

Though the leopard sneaked into the campus taking cover in the vegetation, the ubiquitous CCTV cameras managed to capture its presence and alerted the security personnel.

After being informed by the RBI management, the Forest Department deployed a 30-member team drawn from the Leopard Task Force for combing and scouring the campus.

The leopard’s presence was noticed some time in the second week of February 2025. The combing operation commenced soon after; but it was not disclosed to the public given the sensitivity of the issue.

On confirmation of the leopard’s presence, the Forest Department placed cattle pen cages at four points.

After combing the campus for 20 days, on February 28 around 4 a.m., the game of cat-and-mouse — or rather ’cat and Forest Department’ — ended when  the leopard walked into a trap, and was caged.

The leopard is an adult male. Wildlife veterinarians are monitoring its health to ascertain if the animal can be released back into the wild, according to Deputy Conservator of Forest Prabhu Gowda.