Lucknow, Oct 6 (IANS) Upon discovering a crocodile in their fields, scared residents of a village in Uttar Pradesh chased and killed the reptile, which is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, forest officials said Monday.The incident took place late Sunday night in Laherpur village in Sitapur, some 80 km from here.

“After spotting the crocodile in a field close to a canal, interconnected by the Ghagra river, a group of villagers chased the crocodile and attacked it with sticks,” R.K. Sachan, divisional forest officer (DFO) told IANS.

Forest officials are yet to recover the carcass of the crocodile, which they say was buried by the villagers fearing action against them.

“An inquiry is underway and soon the villagers who killed the animal will be arrested,” said Sachan.

Normally, crocodiles are not found in the Sharda and Ghagra river near Sitapur, officials said.

“It appears the crocodile was swept down by the flood waters released from Nepal,” said Singh.

Under the Wildlife Protection Act, crocodiles can neither be hunted nor traded.