Three men were arrested on Thursday in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, for violating the Wildlife Protection Act. The arrests followed the circulation of a video on Instagram that allegedly depicted them hunting, cooking, and consuming a monitor lizard. Forest officials confirmed the arrests, highlighting the ongoing issue of wildlife protection in the region.
Forest department officials traced the men after the video went viral, using the motorcycle registration number visible in the Instagram account’s display picture as a key lead. Bacheli Ranger Pritesh Pandey said the accused were identified as Hunga, 30, Kosa Payam, 39, and Nanda Ram Oyami, 36, all residents of Khutepal village in Kuakonda block of the district.
The accused were produced before a Dantewada court on Thursday. They allegedly caught and killed it and filmed the hunt. The video was uploaded on Instagram a few days later. Once the footage came to the department’s notice, officials began tracking the account. Forest officials seized three banda weapons and two bows and arrows allegedly used in the hunt. The monitor lizard is listed under Schedule I of the Act, and hunting a protected species can attract a prison term of three to seven years.
The three have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The three had gone into the forest about a week ago to graze cattle when they spotted the monitor lizard, according to forest officials.
