Nilgiris | A leopard sought sanctuary inside a house at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district, fearing Diwali crackers, said a forest official on Sunday.

The wild cat entered the house at 3 a.m. today and has been lying inside the house for 15 hours.

Meanwhile, the forest officials have deployed three CCTV cameras and an automatic camera in order to keep an eye on the leopard, said the official.

"We hope that the leopard moves out by tonight. We are monitoring the CCTV to keep a close eye on the movements of the large cat", said Arun, Deputy Director, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.