Thane | Police have arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly hunting a mouse deer, a protected species, in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Thursday.

The forest department personnel on September 23 found the injured mouse deer, also known as chevrotain, with signs of being shot with a pellet gun in Ambernath area of the district.

Despite efforts to save the animal, it succumbed to the injuries three days later after being transferred to a wildlife hospital at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park for treatment, a forest official said.

After an autopsy disclosed pellet wounds on the carcass, the forest department lodged a case against an unidentified person under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act and conducted a comprehensive probe into the animal's death.

The evidence gathered during the inquiry led to the identification of the accused, Jagdish Wagh, resident of Ambernath, the official said.

Assistant Conservator of Forests, Ganesh Sontakke, said the investigators found numerous photographs on Wagh's mobile phone showing various animals being hunted, further establishing his involvement in illegal activities.

Wagh was arrested on October 19, and authorities were conducting further investigation to uncover the full extent of the crime and any potential accomplices, he said.