Three held in Chhattisgarh after Instagram video shows monitor lizard hunt, eaten

Three individuals were apprehended in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Thursday under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act following the widespread dissemination of an Instagram video depicting their alleged hunting, preparation, and consumption of a monitor lizard. The forest authorities managed to locate the suspects by leveraging the motorcycle registration number visible in the Instagram profile picture used in the video.

The arrested men identified as Hunga, 30, Kosa Payam, 39, and Nanda Ram Oyami, 36, are all from Khutepal village in Kuakonda block of the district. According to the forest officials, the trio ventured into the forest around a week prior to the incident to tend to their cattle when they encountered the monitor lizard. It is alleged that they apprehended and killed the reptile, subsequently recording the hunt, which they later uploaded to Instagram.

Once the video came to the attention of the department, officials commenced tracking the account. The men were apprehended and seized three bandha weapons and two bows and arrows allegedly used during the hunt. The accused have been charged under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as the monitor lizard is classified under Schedule I of the Act, and poaching a protected species can lead to a prison sentence of three to seven years. The suspects were brought before a Dantewada court on Thursday.