Four held for ‘raping’ Bengal monitor lizard in Maharashtra’s Sahyadri Tiger Reserve

By PTI

MUMBAI: Four individuals have been arrested for allegedly raping a Bengal monitor lizard in Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) in Maharashtra, a forest official stated on Wednesday.

The incident, which occurred at Gothane village in Ratnagiri district, got here to gentle days after the 4 accused have been booked for illegally coming into Chandoli National Park, which is a part of the reserve, with one in every of them carrying a gun for searching, he stated.

The accused have been being probed after they have been booked on March 31 for illegally coming into the forest when the crime got here to gentle, the official stated.

The STR is unfold over 4 districts of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri.

The accused have been recognized as Sandeep Tukaram Pawar, Mangesh Kamtekar, Akshay Kamtekar and Ramesh Ghag, he stated.

“During the investigation, the forest officers discovered that the accused had allegedly raped a Bengal monitor lizard.

Their act was additionally recorded in a cell phone of one of many accused individuals,” he stated.

“We have recovered all the related evidence from the accused and they were granted forest department custody initially, but are out on bail now,” the forest official stated.

They have been requested to mark their presence earlier than the forest officer, who’s probing the case, each Monday, he stated.

“The four accused have been booked under various sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972,” area director of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR), Nanasaheb Ladkat, stated.