Infosys provides route map to trainees as leopard remains elusive on Mysuru campus

About 15 personnel from the forest department stand guard on the Mysuru campus.

When a leopard was spotted in Infosys' Mysuru campus on December 31, 2024, the Bengaluru-based company advised employees to work from home, gave trainees two days off, and launched a week-long search, which included marked maps for trainees and the use of goats as baits to track the elusive feline.

Despite these efforts, forest officials are yet to capture the wild animal after a week of searching. Over 7,000 trainees who stay on campus have returned to attending classes, while employees are still working remotely, sources said.

Infosys office is located inside the sprawling 350-acre campus.

“The company had asked its staff to work from home or remote locations till January 6 when they would take a fresh call again,” a source said on the condition of anonymity.

About 15 personnel from the forest department have been standing guard on campus.

A detailed questionnaire sent to the company remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.

According to an internal communication addressed to Infosys trainees, reviewed by Moneycontrol, the recipients have been instructed to follow a specific route while walking from ECC (trainee lodging buildings) to GEC2 (new training building) to food courts and back.

A map of the campus provided to them shows detailed pathways marked with orange and yellow arrows, indicating the route from ECC to GEC and from GEC to the food court, respectively.

They have also been asked to move in groups of over 5 and refrain from sitting on the benches and footpaths.

“Kindly avoid loitering in the campus and step out of your ECC only when necessary,” read the internal communication,” further adding, “Please ensure decorum is maintained in the campus and avoid large crowd gatherings or making loud noises.”

"In the last 48 hours, there has been no evidence of the leopard—no camera trap images, pugmarks, or movement within the campus," KN Basavaraj, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Territorial) told Moneycontrol. "The last sighting was a camera trap image on January 5."

"Our operation to capture the leopard continues with five trap cages, 25 camera traps, and a 15-member task force equipped with a thermal drone, monitoring the area round-the-clock," he said.

He said the 350-acre campus has underground tunnels and drainage pipes that could hide the leopard. "There isn't a clear map of the drainage lines so we are systematically inspecting these areas. Wherever we identify such lines, we are plugging them with mesh to prevent the leopard from accessing these hideouts," he said.

He added that, according to the company, there are about 7,000 trainees now staying on the campus.

Meanwhile, 12 camera traps have been strategically placed throughout the campus, and two cages have been positioned in areas where the leopard is most likely to appear, reported Mysuru-based publication Star of Mysore.

Additionally, a drone with a thermal imaging camera has been deployed to track the animal's movements. Despite these efforts, there has been no trace of the leopard so far.

Speculation is rife that the leopard might have already exited the campus considering these traits. However, the forest department is continuing its operations.