Odisha: Mugger rescued from village pond a year after it ‘escaped’ from Satkosia sanctuary

Priya Ranjan Swain Published On : Jul 2, 2023 at 5:06 PM

Bhubaneswar: A mugger was reportedly rescued from a pond at Purunakot village in Angul district of Odisha today.

The mugger was hiding in the pond for around a year, villagers said.

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The mugger might have escaped from Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary in Mahanadi river during a flood-like situation in the rainy season of last year, they added.

“The mugger might have travelled around 10 km in a canal to reach a pond at Purunakot. The freshwater crocodile was hiding in the pond for last one year. The locals were in a state of panic,” said a villager.

The Forest department initiated measures to rescue the mugger from the pond only after a report in this regard was published in leading Odia daily ‘Sambad’.

“We have rescued the mugger by using a net. The reptile will be released into Mahanadi after the routine health checkup,” said an official of the Forest department.