Manasa: A team of forest department rescued a fully grown crocodile from Mokhampura village in Manasa tehsil of Neemuch district.

Forest department officer RR Parmar said that on Wednesday at 10 am, acting on a tip-off a team of the department reached Mokhampura village and rescued a crocodile from the canal pipe of the government pond of the village.

Locals claimed that the crocodile might have wandered into the village due to the drying of the river and delay in the arrival of monsoon. They said that many a times crocodiles stray into the fields or the village and they hide amid the thick crop.

The team caught it after toiling for over an one and a half hours. The crocodile which is over 10 feet long and weighs more than two quintals was later released safely in Gandhi Sagar Reservoir.

Farmers claimed that this is not the first time that crocodiles have been found in the villages or agriculture fields here in Neemuch and Mandsaur district.

Many such incidents were reported in Garoth and adjoining villages. Farmers also claimed that the reptiles have now started taking shelter in the agriculture fields and searching for prey in the villages.

Now itís dangerous to work in the field during night hours, farmers said.