Overview

• The forest department’s technical team found the viral Ruchi Khand visual was digitally manipulated and not actual surveillance footage, according to DFO Sitanshu Pandey.
• Police and forest officials inspected the neighborhood and reviewed CCTV recordings, finding no evidence that a wild animal was present.
• A youth was detained for creating and circulating the AI images, confessed during questioning, and faces a complaint filed with Aashiana police, officials said.
• The images spread widely on WhatsApp and local social pages, prompting residents to review home cameras and keep children indoors out of caution.
• Separate search operations continue for an earlier reported leopard sighting in the Cantt area, with three teams on patrol and camera traps deployed but no detections so far.