Maharashtra, April 13: In a bizarre incident, four people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a Bengal monitor lizard in Maharashtra's Sahydari Tiger Reserve near Gothane village.

According to reports, the accused entered the core zone of the Sahydari Tiger Reserve and committed the horrific crime. Shocking Bestiality in Kerala: Pregnant Goat Raped, Killed by Three Men in Kanhangad.

Police officials said that the accused have been identified as Sandeep Tukram, Pawar Mangesh, Janardhan Kamtekar and Akshay Sunil. The alleged incident came to light when the Maharashtra Forest Department team checked the mobile phone of the accused and learnt about the incident.

Officials of the forest department found a recording of the gruesome act in the mobile phone. In the video, the accused can be seen gang-raping the monitor lizard. Forest accused posted at Sangli forest reserve managed to trace the accused with the help of CCTV footage in which the four culprits are seen roaming in the forest.

An official said that the accused had come from Konkan to Kolhapur's Chandoli village for hunting. The officials will take up the matter with the Indian Penal Court in order to discuss the charges against the four accused. An officer privy to the investigation said that the accused will be produced in a court and appropriate legal action will be taken against them.

As per law, the Bengal monitor lizard is a reserved species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. If convicted in the case, all four accused could be charged with seven years of imprisonment.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2022 10:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).