Four arrested for killing python

BARIPADA: Four persons from Kathasirsi village in Kuliana block, on Saturday were arrested by forest officials from the Deuli range under the Baripada territorial forest division for killing of a 15-foot-long python.

The accused—Bariyal Marandi (30), Babula Singh (50), Mathura Marandi (64), and Kama Marandi (35)—were charged under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The four accused attacked the python when it attempted to consume a goat in a nearby grassfield.

Baripada DFO A Uma Mahesh said, the four persons used stones and sticks to kill the python in their effort to rescue the goat. After the snake’s death, one of them dragged the carcass onto a road, while others assisted in disposing it of at an abandoned location. A passerby captured a video of the scene, which was subsequently circulated on social media, leading to the investigation and arrests.