Man arrested for trying to sell monitor lizards

Chandrashekar K Bajanthri, 24, a native of the village of Hulimangala in Anekal taluk was arrested near his home on Oct 16, 2019, for trying to sell four live Indian Monitor lizards.

Chandrashekar K Bajanthri, 24, a native of the village of Hulimangala in Anekal taluk was arrested near his home on Oct 16, 2019, for trying to sell four live Indian Monitor lizards.

A man’s attempts to sell four Indian monitor lizards as bushmeat to a restaurant in the city backfired when forest officials arrested him on Wednesday afternoon.

Chandrashekar K Bajanthri, 24, a native of the Hulimangala village in Anekal taluk, was found near his home around 1 pm by members of the Forest Vigilance Cell, who were acting on a tip-off. Bajanthri had four live lizards and a pair of Sambar horns in his possession.

According to assistant conservator of forests G A Gangadhar, who led the raid, during interrogation Bajanthri confessed that he was preparing to sell the animals to a restaurant in the city.

“However, so far, he has refused to tell us the name of the restaurant,” Gangadhar said.

Bajanthri was booked under the Wildlife Protection Act and other sections. The rescued monitor lizards will be sent to the rescue centre at the Bannerghatta National Park, where they will be examined for injuries.