Mumbai, April 14: Bengal monitor lizard has been allegedly raped by four people in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve near Gothane village in Maharashtra. The accused were identified as hunters. They have allegedly entered the core zone of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in the Gabha area and committed the abhorrent crime.
They have been identified as Sandeep Tukram, Pawar Mangesh, Janardhan Kamtekar, and Akshay Sunil. The Maharashtra Forest Department came to know after checking the phone of the accused. The officials found the clip of the act which showed the accused allegedly gang-raping the monitor lizard.
The forest officials posted at Sangli forest reserve traced the accused with the help of CCTV footage. In the footage, they can be seen roaming in the forest. The authorities informed that the three accused had come from Konkan to Kolhapur’s Chandoli village for hunting.
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The forest officials, who are perplexed about the incident, will take up the matter with the Indian Penal Court to discuss the charges against the accused. According to the officials, the accused will be produced in court and appropriate legal action will be taken against them.
For the unversed, the Bengal monitor lizard is a reserved species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. If convicted, the accused could be charged with seven years of imprisonment.
