Porcupine case: Vellanad Sasi surrenders

T'puram: Vellanad panchayat president Vellanad Sasi surrendered before forest department on Tuesday in connection with the case of beating to death a porcupine, a protected species. He appeared at Paruthippally forest department office around 3.30pm. Though forest officials offered him a chair, Sasi reportedly said he would sit on the floor since he was an accused.According to police, Sasi has been ‘absconding' ever since the incident happened. However, police faced severe criticism for not arresting him though he was reportedly attending several functions and meetings in the area. Police will record Sasi's statement. His anticipatory bail plea in the case was earlier rejected by the court, following which he has approached the high court. In this context, Paruthippally forest range officer stated that Sasi was unlikely to be arrested on Tuesday. However, Sasi got irritated when the media came to cover his surrender. He tried to pelt stones at the media persons. The incident took place on Feb 28, when a porcupine that entered a house in Vellanad panchayat was allegedly beaten to death by Sasi using an iron rod. However, Sasi earlier told reporters that he did not kill the animal and only checked whether it was already dead. He claimed that the porcupine was run over by a vehicle and was lying dead, and that he was merely checking if it was alive. He also said that porcupines are a major nuisance in the area. After visuals of the incident surfaced, Sasi reiterated that he feared the animal might attack someone after entering a house.Forest team led by RRT officer Roshni shifted carcass of the porcupine. The postmortem report confirmed that the porcupine died due to head injuries. It also noted damage to the brain and stated that the skull was fractured, indicating that the fatal injury was caused by blows from an iron rod.Porcupine is a protected species listed under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The offence carries a punishment of up to seven years in prison and a minimum fine of Rs 25,000.