Lucknow | Wedding celebrations can often get wild. And this one in Lucknow did, quite literally, when a leopard strayed into the banquet hall. Expectedly, pandemonium broke out as panicked guests scampered here and there, the bride and groom locked themselves in a car and a forest officer who tried to take on the big cat was injured when it took a swipe at his rifle wielding arm.

It all happened on Wednesday night in the city's Buddheshwar Road area. The leopard was caught and tranquillised after hours of efforts around 2 am.

An eyewitness described the scene when the leopard made its entry. The sight of the wild cat, he said, led to panic and screams with guests running frantically to save their lives. Police and forest department officials were called and quickly reached the spot to handle the crisis.

Videos showed the officials putting on protective gear and carefully climbing the stairs of the banquet hall. As they do, the leopard can be seen lunging at one official who leaves his weapon behind as the men retreat.

Forest department official Mukaddar Ali sustained injuries in his hand while trying to catch the leopard, police said.

"We have ordered an inquiry into the whole episode. The animal has been nabbed. But we want to get into the bottom of the whole thing," Uttar Pradesh Forest Minister Arun Kumar Saxena told PTI.

"The leopard population has increased... we want to guard against such incidents," he said.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Shitanshu Pandey added that the leopard was caught after two tranquilliser darts after which it was trapped using a net and kept in a cage.

"It will be relocated and released in the forest after due permissions,” he said. It is a male weighing 80-90 kg.

While leopard sightings have become increasingly frequent in many urban centres across the country, it is rare in Lucknow. The video was widely distributed across all social media platforms and the one question being asked was how it reached the heart of the city and went into the building.

“There is a dense forest nearby… There are mango orchards in Malihabad. Lakhimpur Kheri is also close to this place. It's possible that it might have strayed from the Kheri region," said Pandey.

The incident also took on a political hue.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP-led state government, saying it is a result of “corruption” in the state government due to which “human encroachment in forests is increasing”.

In a post on X, he said, "The 'jumlajeevi' BJP government of UP was not yet able to find a solution to the problem of stray animals and now it is facing another challenge of the attack of a 'leopard' in the state capital."

"The news of a leopard entering a wedding ceremony in Lucknow is worrying. One form of corruption in the BJP government is that human encroachment in forests is increasing, in such a situation, violent wild animals are being forced to come out of forests to cities in search of food, due to which the lives of common people are in danger," he said.

Till the leopard was caught, the newly-weds were in the car. And some film fans couldn't resist the inevitable recall -- the still hummed song from the 1973 film “Bobby” about the lead pair, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple, locked in a room. Except in this case it would go something like this, “Hum tum ek gaadi mein bandh ho, aur sher aa jaye”, they said.