Two men were arrested for allegedly cooking the carcass of a porcupine, which was found after being hit by a vehicle in Kotagiri on Wednesday (August 13, 2025).
Forest Department officials stated that they had been intimated of the incident, but before they could reach the area to retrieve the carcass, they found that unidentified persons had got to it first.
“Following this, the Kotagiri Forest Department launched a detailed investigation and reviewed CCTV footage. The investigation revealed that a man, wearing a helmet and riding a two-wheeler, had picked up the dead porcupine,” the Forest Department said.
Further inquiries confirmed that the individual in the footage was P. Raju Thapa, 32, residing near Kotagiri. Raju Thapa, a mushroom seller, is then said to have handed over the porcupine to Mahendran, a resident of Orasholai, who in turn handed it over to his brother-in-law Joseph to clean and cook the carcass. Officials from the Kotagiri Forest Range registered a case against all three individuals involved.
The Forest Department then arrested Raju Thapa and Joseph. They were produced before the Kotagiri Judicial Magistrate Court and remanded to judicial custody. Efforts are under way to apprehend Mahendran, they added.
Published – August 14, 2025 04:47 pm IST
