Story By Joseph Golder
News Editor Ajda Ender
This is the shocking moment a leopard slips into an alcohol shop and pounces on a worker who battles back and scrambles behind the counter to shield himself from the big cat.
CCTV footage shows a leopard entering a wine shop and lunging at a man, who fights back and attempts to protect himself behind the counter, Todaraisingh, Tonk district, Rajasthan, India, July 20, 2026.***Video Licence Restrictions: NONE/UNLIMITED. This video is from a professional partner – for details of our ‘professional partner’ licence see https://newsx.agency/licences/ For terms visit: https://newsx.media/terms-conditions
CCTV footage shows the incident at a wine shop in the town of Todaraisingh, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, on 20th July, with the big cat reportedly attacking three people in total during the heart-stopping incident.
The footage shows the wild animal rushing into the shop and attacking the terrified worker, swiping at him with its razor-sharp claws as it roars loudly, with the worker shouting out in fright and managing to push the animal off himself before running away.
The leopard, then reportedly trapped inside the shop after the shopkeeper dropped the metal blind at the entrance, can be seen seeking refuge under the counter.
CCTV recorded from another angle shows the animal attacking at least one other man before it entered the shop.
The attack was one of three carried out by the same animal on Monday morning, injuring three men and triggering a five-hour operation before wildlife specialists tranquilised the leopard with a single dart at around 2pm local time, officials said.
This image is a screen grab of the video supplied titled NewsX-LeopardWine-01.mp4: CCTV footage shows a leopard entering a wine shop and lunging at a man, who fights back and attempts to protect himself behind the counter, Todaraisingh, Tonk district, Rajasthan, India, July 20, 2026. ( Clipzilla/NX)
The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca), a subspecies listed as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is thought to have wandered down from nearby hills into the town at around 8:40 am.
A local forest volunteer, known as a “van mitra” and named as Rakesh, was called out to check bushes where residents had spotted the animal, but was set upon when he drew near.
The leopard then bolted around 400 metres (1,312 feet) to a wine shop on Bisalpur Road, where it swiped at Fateh Lal Koli, 40, who was sitting outside, before charging in and attacking the shopkeeper, Sanjay Gurjar, 25.
Gurjar suffered claw injuries to his hand, shoulder and nose, but managed to shove the animal off and yank the shutter down as he ran out, trapping the leopard inside.
He said afterwards: “I somehow pushed the leopard away and ran towards the exit.
“As I ran, I pulled the shutter down.
“Then I lost consciousness.”
Police cleared a 500-metre (1,640 feet) cordon around the shop and shut the main market to the public, while a specialist rescue unit from Jhalana in Jaipur was called in.
Rakesh was discharged after first aid, while Fateh Lal and Gurjar were referred on for further treatment.
Ashok Tanwar, the senior veterinary officer who led the rescue, said this was a first for him in 63 previous callouts, none of which had involved an alcohol shop.
Anurag Maharshi, Tonk’s Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), said the animal was a five-year-old male and would be given a medical examination before being returned to the wild.
Leopard movements have reportedly been logged for several days in forest tracts between Todaraisingh and Bisalpur.
(Joe Golder/Clipzilla/NX)
