Kendrapara, Dec. 30: A group of fishermen have allegedly hacked to death a five-foot-long estuarine crocodile in a river-side Sanoanko village in the district.

Forest officials spotted the croc's body near a water body at the village yesterday. They said the croc's body bore multiple injury marks and it was most probably caught in the fishing net. The croc had strayed into the village and reportedly devoured domesticated animals. This angered the local villagers, who allegedly killed the animal, which has been accorded the "protected" status under the wildlife legal provisions, said sources.

"As estuarine croc spotted dead comes under the scheduled and protected animal, a case under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, has been registered. The reptile's body has been sent for post-mortem," said divisional forest officer Bimal Prasanna Acharya.

In the recent past, salt-water crocodiles on the prowl have often trespassed into water bodies in and around the Bhitarkanika sanctuary-side human settlements triggering panic among the villagers.

Since past 18 months, as many as nine adult and sub-adult salt-water crocodiles have died after acts of trespass into places of human habitations.

The species are itinerant in nature and stray into adjoining water bodies because of its increased hyper-salinity contents. After a temporary sojourn, they leave for their permanent habitation corridors within Bhitarkanika, according to forest officials.