Bride-Groom Remain Stuck In Car After Leopard Gatecrashes Lucknow Wedding: Watch
The video of the unusual incident, which took place in the city's MM Lawn hall on Budheshwar Ring Road in the Para police station area, has since gone viral on social media.
Several people who had gathered to attend a wedding ceremony in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, were forced to run to save their lives after an uninvited guest joined them only to create panic and chaos at the premises of the banquet hall, bringing the celebrations to a standstill. This unexpected guest was a leopard that gatecrashed the wedding at around 11:40 PM on Wednesday.
The chilling incident left the guests in shock, with the bride and groom stranded in a car for hours till the leopard was rescued.
The video of the unusual incident, which took place in the city's MM Lawn hall on Budheshwar Ring Road in the Para police station area, has since gone viral on social media, sending chills down the spine of viewers.
After the leopard suddenly strayed into the wedding venue, hundreds of guests ran out to the streets to save their lives. One person was reportedly seriously injured after jumping out of the roof in panic.
Shortly after receiving information, a police team and officials from the forest department rushed to the spot and evacuated all attendees before launching a search operation, Lucknow DFO Sitanshu Pandey said. He said that it took almost 4.5 hours to rescue the leopard from the guest house.
The video from the wedding venue shows a group of police officers with rifles entering a locked area inside the banquet hall. The leopard catches them off guard after they climb up the stairs to capture it.
Crazy visuals from Lucknow, UP where a leopard gatecrashed a wedding at a marriage lawn. A team of forest dept and local police, trying to contain the situation, was caught off guard with two consecutive attacks by the leopard which snatched a rifle. pic.twitter.com/ehfuBvcC51
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) February 12, 2025
The big cat can also be seen trying to pull a rifle from an officer's hand, but falls and flees upstairs. After this, the officials come out of the area and the leopard was locked up again.
A guest said that until the animal was caught, the families of both the bride and groom sat in their vehicles for safety, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP-led government in the state over the incident, saying that the incident was a result of "corruption" due to which “human encroachment in forests is increasing”
उप्र की ‘जुमलाजीवी’ भाजपा सरकार अभी छुट्टा पशुओं की समस्या का ही समाधान ढूँढ नहीं पाई थी कि उसके सामने अब एक और चुनौती आ गई है और वो है प्रदेश की राजधानी में ‘तेंदुए’ का हमला।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) February 13, 2025
लखनऊ में एक शादी समारोह में तेंदुए के प्रवेश का समाचार चिंताजनक है। भाजपा सरकार में भ्रष्टाचार का एक… pic.twitter.com/0DxyUMT4jh
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The leopard was finally rescued after an overnight operation on Thursday. A separate video also surfaced showing the animal being loaded into a cage after being tranquilised.
Officials had also urged residents of the area to remain calm and refrain from venturing out alone.
"It took almost 4.5 hours to rescue the leopard from the MM Lawn Guest House... SDO Mohanlalganj and 3 doctors arrived here immediately... Around 203 people were present at the venue. One person from the forest staff was also injured. He has received treatment... There is a huge dense forest above Malihabad which has mango trees. Above that, there is also Lakhimpur Kheri, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve. Since the leopard is an agile animal, it can come from anywhere," Lucknow Divisional Forest Officer Sitanshu Pandey said.
#WATCH | Lucknow, UP | A leopard entered a wedding ceremony at MM Lawn on Budheshwar Ring Road in the Para police station area in Lucknow at around 11.40 pm yesterday. The forest department rescued the leopard after four hours.
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2025
Lucknow Divisional Forest Officer Sitanshu Pandey… pic.twitter.com/1PSfFSFRwB
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