UP: Villagers hold crocodile 'hostage', demand Rs 50 thousand ransom from forest officials

One often hears about people being held hostage and demand of ransom for their release. But who knew that a crocodile would also encounter the same fate?

In an Uttar Pradesh district, a crocodile was held 'hostage' and its 'kidnappers' demanded a ransom of Rs 50 thousand for its 'release'.

How and why did it happen?

The bizarre incident happened at Midaniya village in Lakhimpur Kheri district, which is about 120 kilometres from Lucknow.

According to the reports, a crocodile, which was washed away by the strong current of floodwaters, entered a swollen pond in the village a few days back.

Panicked villagers informed the forest officials about it and asked them to catch the crocodile immediately as it was a threat to their livestock and the residents.

As no forest department official reached the village despite their repeated requests, the local residents themselves rescued it. However, they held the animal hostage and refused to hand it over to the forest officials.

''The villagers said that many of the residents risked their lives in rescuing the crocodile and so they will release it only after payment of Rs 50 thousand,'' said a forest official in the district.

Taken aback by the ransom demand, the forest officials tried their best to convince the residents to release the crocodile and told them there is no provision to pay 'ransom'.

As the villagers remained adamant, the officials had to threaten them with police action. As per reports, the crocodile was ultimately handed over to the officials and was later released in the river.