Kerala Panchayat President Booked for Allegedly Killing Protected Porcupine

In Vellanad, Kerala, village panchayat president Vellanad Sasi, affiliated with the ruling CPI(M), has been booked for allegedly beating a porcupine—a protected species under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act—to death after it entered a house. Forest officials invoked non-bailable sections of the Act, and an investigation including a post-mortem on the animal's carcass is ongoing. Authorities attempted to take Sasi into custody, but he was not present at the panchayat office.