Another case of animal cruelty has came to light as a crocodile was allegedly killed and eaten by some people at Kaladapalli village under Podia block in Malkangiri district of Odisha, Forest Officer Pradeep Mirase said on Thursday.
The incident came to light after a video of the crocodile hanging from the tree went viral on social media on Thursday. Sources said that the villagers had caught the 10 feet long crocodile from Saveri river and dragged it to Kaladapalli. They hanged the reptile from a tamarind tree and examined its teeth, claws, and stubby limbs.
As the new spread, hundreds of people from nearby areas rushed to the village to see the live reptile. After the crocodile died, the villagers cut it to pieces and distributed the meat among the locals.
Later in the night, a dinner party was also thrown in the village.
The villagers had decided to trap the reptile suspecting that a crocodile was behind the killing of cows and goats of the locals. Since a week, the villagers were chasing the crocodile in Saveri river.
A day after the incident, Forest department is yet to make any arrests in this connection.
The New Indian Express reported, Divisional Forest Officer, Malkangiri Pradip Kumar Mirase said they were interrogating a person in this connection. A three-member team has been formed to nab the culprits and investigation is on, he added.
