Angul: A 25-year-old man has been arrested in Odisha’s Angul district for allegedly killing a parrot and sharing a video of the act on social media.

The accused, identified as Baiga Pitali from Athamallik area of the district, was taken into custody by the forest department after officials traced his mobile number from the video posted on Instagram.

Athamallik Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Santosh Kumar Koppula confirmed the arrest, informing that the parrot died due to hanging.

During interrogation, Pitali claimed he was not alone in the act and another person was involved in killing the bird, while he only recorded the video. The forest department is now searching for the second suspect.

A case has been registered against Pitali under Section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act for killing the bird. Preliminary reports suggest that the duo killed the parrot after it pecked at black gram crops.

The investigation is ongoing.