Days after a widely shared video showed six people cutting a live rat snake into pieces in Osmanabad district of the Marathwada region, the police have arrested four men and booked two minors for cruelty. The nauseating clip had prompted Clement Ben, additional principal chief conservator of forest-wildlife (west), to instruct the forest department to launch a probe and take strict action against those behind it.

Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Vrushali Tambe told mid-day, “A total of five arrests have been made from Osmanabad district in connection with the incident where an Indian rat snake was killed after chopping it into pieces. Of the six people arrested, two are juveniles and they will be produced before the juvenile court on Monday.” The accused have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act Section.