Five in Idukki were arrested on Friday for killing a leopard and eating its meat. The shocked forest officials arrested the five men who had ensnared the six-year-old predator cat.
Initially, the officials thought the leopard had been trapped accidentally in the snare put up to trap wild boars. But, on questioning the group, it was known that the trap was laid deliberately to trap the animal, that would stray into their land and often killed their pets and cattle.
Officials discovered 10 kilos of uncooked meat, nails, teeth and skin at the home of one of the accused, Vinod P K. Vinod and his friends set a snare using auto brake cable, net and other materials, days after the leopard killed a goat owned by Vinod.
After the animal was trapped the five of them took the leopard to Vinod's house and killed it. The other accused and arrested include V C Kuriakose, Salimon, Binu and Vincent Poulose. The rest of them joined him in eating the meat. The leopard was a big cat, weighing around 50 kilos. The accused are likely to face seven years in prison along with a fine. Leopard is listed in the schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
