Shahjahanpur: A one-year-old Indian mugger crocodile — listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list of threatened species — was run over by an unidentified vehicle in Nighasan area of Lakhimpur Kheri district on Tuesday midnight.It was the third fatality of Indian mugger crocodile reported from Kheri district, which has a rich population of the species, in the past 40 days.On Wednesday morning, some locals spotted the carcass near Rakehti village of Nighasan and informed the forest department.DFO (north), Kheri forest division, Anil Patel sent a team to the spot. The team members took the custody of carcass and carried out preliminary investigation. They also recorded locals’ statements. Later, an FIR was registered against unidentified person under the Wildlife Protection Act.Since crocodile is a schedule one animal, the body was sent for autopsy, and a detailed report was prepared.Patel told TOI, “The crocodile accidentally came out of a canal and was possibly run over by a light motor vehicle. Nobody saw the accident. Also, there were no CCTV cameras installed in adjoining villages. However, we have installed signboards near the forest area, instructing motorists to drive carefully. Our officers also keep vigil on over-speeding vehicles at the check posts. But, nothing could be done in this case, as the incident was reported from outside the forest area. We have lodged an FIR against the unidentified driver, and are trying to identify the vehicle.”Earlier, on August 12, a crocodile was run over by an unidentified vehicle on Gola-Bheera state highway near Kusmauri village of Phoolbehad block. On August 24, a two-year-old female crocodile was run over by a UPSRTC bus near Sukhanpurva village of Nighasan block.

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