Villagers in Indonesia tortured and beheaded a giant crocodile that they referred to as a demon. The crocodile was 14-foot (4.5 metre) long and had haunted the village, people said before conducting rituals to get rid of the 'demon'.
The reptile is said to be 50-year-old and had attacked residents of the village on several occasions forcing them to arrange for a trap to capture it. They used a net that was laden with razor sharp blades and captured the crocodile in the Kayubesi River, Bangka Belitung Islands in Indonesia.
Villagers Refuse to Shift Reptile to a Safer Place
There was ruckus after the crocodile was captured. It was so huge that people shifted the crocodile using a bulldozer. Apparently it weighed half-a-tonne. There was an argument between the officials from a conservation agency and the villagers over killing the reptile.
The villagers were adamant that the crocodile cannot be shifted out of the village. The conservation officers wanted to take the crocodile to a safer place far from the village. The villagers then put forth the theory of the reptile being a demon.
They said that shifting the crocodile away from the village would bring them bad luck. They stood their ground and kept it inside the net laden with blades. The reptile died of suffocation and exhaustion two days after it was captured. This led to another discussion among the villagers about its burial.
Cops Express Helplessness!
As it was considered as a demon, they decided to behead the crocodile with a belief that doing that will prevent it from coming back to the village in any other form. Thus, the crocodile was beheaded and its body and head buried separately.
It was carried to the burial ground too using a bulldozer. Before the burial, residents of the village performed various rituals to prevent the evil spirit from coming back to haunt them. Reports claim that a similar incident had occurred in the village in 2016. Even then the conservation agency officials failed to convince the villagers. The residents of the village had conducted the burial after performing the rituals in 2016 too.
In 2018, an Indonesian man was killed by a crocodile in West Papua. Following this incident, villagers had slaughtered 300 crocodiles after conducting the funeral of the man who was killed by the reptile.
The DailyMail reported that police expressed their helplessness and said that they do not have any control over such matters and the villagers have the last say when it comes to superstitious beliefs and practices.
