Incredible pictures have captured the moment a northern Indian community came together to capture a rampaging leopard.

The beast strayed into a residential area in northern India on Thursday, approached a crowd of around 100 people and injured at least four of them before it was locked inside a room, a forest ranger said.

Mind-blowing footage of the rampage, in the Lamba Pind area of Jalandhar, shows the large feline knocking one man off a ladder — before it jumps over a wall and runs down a narrow street towards a gathering crowd.

Kuldip Kumar said a group of rangers reached the area in Jalandhar city in the northern Punjab state after residents alerted police.

He said the leopard bit one ranger and clawed two others when they tried to capture it with a net, and injured at least one resident who pelted it with rocks.

Footage shows people running for their lives as the cat drags one man to the ground and bites him — before leaping away to find another victim.

However, none of the injuries were life threatening.

Locals threw a net over the leopard in an attempt to capture it but it was unsuccessful.

Mr Kumar said the animal entered a room in a building and was locked inside by the rangers.

Conflicts between humans and animals are on the rise in India, where people have begun living in areas near and even inside reserves.

— with AP