📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ramesh Lalwani
Crime
Three Bastar Men Arrested for Hunting, Cooking and Eating Protected Monitor Lizard
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 28 Aug 2026, 10:03 AM
👁 2
Police in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, detained three men after they hunted a protected monitor lizard, prepared it with alcohol and consumed it, violating wildlife laws.
Police in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh launched an investigation after a local video showed three men hunting a monitor lizard, a species listed under the Wildlife Protection Act. The men were seen preparing the reptile with liquor, a practice locally referred to as "chakna with liquor," before eating it.
Authorities said the act of capturing, killing and consuming a protected species is a punishable offence under the 1972 Act. The three suspects were apprehended at the scene and taken to the district police station for questioning.
The incident has sparked concern among wildlife officials, who warned that illegal poaching of monitor lizards threatens the fragile ecosystem of the region. The men now face potential fines and imprisonment pending further legal proceedings.
Local officials have urged residents to report any similar wildlife violations and emphasized the need for stricter enforcement of conservation laws in tribal areas.
The case underscores ongoing challenges in balancing traditional food practices with modern wildlife protection mandates in remote parts of India.
Authorities said the act of capturing, killing and consuming a protected species is a punishable offence under the 1972 Act. The three suspects were apprehended at the scene and taken to the district police station for questioning.
The incident has sparked concern among wildlife officials, who warned that illegal poaching of monitor lizards threatens the fragile ecosystem of the region. The men now face potential fines and imprisonment pending further legal proceedings.
Local officials have urged residents to report any similar wildlife violations and emphasized the need for stricter enforcement of conservation laws in tribal areas.
The case underscores ongoing challenges in balancing traditional food practices with modern wildlife protection mandates in remote parts of India.