Indian YouTuber arrested after peacock curry video sparks fury for cooking national bird
- The Indian peacock holds a special symbolic importance in the country, and is protected under stringent wildlife laws
An Indian would-be social media star has been arrested and detained after outrage by his video of cooking and eating the country’s protected national bird, a peacock, police said.
Police said that Kodam Pranay Kumar was detained on Monday and sent to jail after “other videos in his mobile phone confirmed” that the bird he’d cooked for his curry dish video was indeed a peacock.
The colourful birds are protected under stringent wildlife laws.
“He is now in jail on 14 days remand under the Wildlife Protection Act and now the court would decide whether he’d remain inside or get a bail,” Akhil Mahajan, police superintendent in southern state of Telangana said.
Investigators are also trying to ascertain how and where Kumar managed to get a peacock for the video, which has since been removed from his channel.
The video showed him cooking peacock curry, “a stunt allegedly pulled to attract more views”, The Times of India reported.