A man was arrested on Sunday after a video showing him cooking and consuming ‘peacock curry’ surfaced on social media, sparking widespread outrage in Telangana’s Sircilla district.
The video sparked outrage from people who accused the YouTuber, Kodam Pranay Kumar, of promoting illegal wildlife consumption. The peacock is India’s national bird.
The video was taken down from Kumar’s YouTube channel after the controversy.
The forest department arrested Kumar and inspected the area where he cooked the ‘peacock curry’ and shot the video. Kumar is facing charges under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Authorities alleged that the video promoted and involved the killing of a protected species.
Forest officials were investigating the video’s legitimacy and collected samples for forensic analysis.
Sircilla Superintendent of Police (SP) Akhil Mahajan said a case was registered against Kumar. “A case was registered under relevant sections and strictest action would be taken against him and anyone else doing such activities,” he said.
The YouTuber’s blood samples and the portions of the curry were sent for testing. Police said action would be taken if the test turns out to be positive for peacock meat
