Forest department officials on Saturday abandoned their search for a leopard that had strayed into the IIT-B campus on Wednesday. The big cat was spotted inside an unused metallurgical workshop, but remained elusive despite extensive search.After laying a trap and waiting for the animal to appear for over 48 hours, forest officials entered the workshop around 2 am on Saturday and carried out a thorough inspection of the premises. A few hours later, they confirmed that the leopard was not there. The workshop was handed over to the IIT administration around 7 am.Earlier, students of the premier institute tried to help the wildlife experts by sending a remote-controlled robot fitted with a camera to the sprawling workshop. However, the gadget did not spot any movement.The institute has deployed a security guard at the laboratory and round-the-clock vigil is being maintained on the campus. Authorities have advised students and other residents against venturing out alone to secluded areas at night. They have also asked the staffers to not send children out of the house alone at night anywhere in the campus."We are thankful to our students, faculty members, other employees and campus residents for maintaining calm and cooperating with the authorities during the time the leopard was said to be trapped within the workshop. I am happy to inform that our academic and other routine activities were hardly disrupted in the last three days," said an IIT-B spokesperson.Forest officials said the workshop was not maintained properly and has many places where an animal can hide. An official said, "There are many points from where the leopard could have entered the workshop. A lot of furniture and obsolete materials have been lying there. If the institute authorities take care of the place, no wild cat will enter the workshop."

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