Thiruvananthapuram, February 28 A village panchayat president has been arrested for allegedly killing a porcupine after it entered a house in Vellanad here on Saturday, forest officials said.
In the television visuals, it could be seen that Vellanad Sasi, a leader of the ruling CPI(M) and president of the Vellanad Panchayat here, was repeatedly beating the animal with a wooden plank.
According to forest officials, the porcupine is a protected species under Schedule 1, and hence, non-bailable sections of the Wildlife Protection Act were invoked against the panchayat president.
A team of officials reached the panchayat office to take Sasi into custody, but he was not there, a forest official said.
"The porcupine was sitting in the corner of a house. Based on the information received, we went there to rescue the animal. Just two minutes before we reached there, he beat the animal to death," the official said.
The alleged offense may invite multiple years of imprisonment and a fine, forest department sources said.
The post-mortem on the carcass was carried out, and further investigation is underway, they added.