Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), July 1 : Locals of Chiplun town were shocked and horrified to see a large crocodile traipsing down a rain-soaked road in Chinchnaka area late on Sunday night.

A video of the scaly reptile, at least eight-feet long, with its jaws menacingly open and tail ready to hit, went viral on social media, confounding the people and officialdom alike.

Though no official comments are available, the reptile is suspected to have ventured into the town from the crocodile-infested Shiv River close by.

A local expert, Sandesh Sansare, who runs the Kokan Crocodile Safari in the River Vashishti around 20 kms away, said that Chinchnaka is very close to the Shiv River bend and owing to the downpour witnessed in the last few days there, the crocodile may have ambled on to the roads to reach a dry area.

'There was a similar incident here owing to some work near the river shores a couple of years ago that had left people scared. Though the presence of the big lizard caused panic, but the crocodile had gone away without causing any harm,' Sansare told IANS.

In Sunday's incident, there were no pedestrians but many people driving by were seen stopping to click photos or videos and sharing them on social media.

Later the scary visitor seemed to have vanished from the scene.

/IANS