A contestant in an Indian version of Big Brother has been arrested for wearing a pendant made of a tiger claw.

During the 22nd episode of Big Boss, Kannada-language participant Varthur Santhosh was arrested.

Under Indian law, wearing and displaying an animal part is a punishable offense.

The pendant was described as a family heirloom by Mr Santhosh to the police.

Mr Santhosh wore the pendant on a thick gold chain while appearing on a popular TV programme in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, according to the forest department.

The Indian Express newspaper reported that forest officials contacted Mr Santhosh through the show’s crew and questioned him.

Bengaluru Urban Deputy Conservator of Forests N Ravindrakumar told the newspaper: “When we checked the pendant, it was confirmed to be a tiger claw.”

Despite not making a public statement, police said Mr Santhosh told them during questioning that the pendant had been in his family for generations.

Displaying animal parts is an offence under India’s wildlife protection law, punishable by three to seven years in prison.

In the past century, the world’s wild tiger population has dropped by 95%, according to statistics from World Wide Fund.

Almost 75% of the world’s tigers are estimated to be in India, the country’s national animal.

Following a significant decline in the population of the animal, India initiated Project Tiger in the 1970s.

Since then, a number of initiatives have been implemented by the government to conserve the tiger, including a ban on hunting and awareness campaigns.