Shocking Wildlife Crime in India: Four Indian Men Allegedly Gang-Rape, Kill, and Ate Protected Bengal Monitor Lizard in Maharashtra Forest – Highlighting Rising Animal Cruelty Amid Surging Rape Cases

Mumbai - In a grotesque display of human depravity that has left wildlife officials and animal rights advocates horrified, four Indian men were arrested in 2022 for allegedly gang-raping a rare Bengal monitor lizard in the protected Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) in Maharashtra, India. The perpetrators – identified as local hunters Sandeep Tukaram Pawar, Mangesh Kamtekar, Akshay Kamtekar, Ramesh Ghag (and others in reports) – not only subjected the helpless reptile to repeated sexual assault but reportedly killed it afterward, cooked its flesh, and consumed it as a meal.

The incident, which occurred on March 29 in the core zone near Gothane village within Chandoli National Park (part of the vast 1,166 sq km Sahyadri Tiger Reserve), came to light when forest guards apprehended the men for illegal entry and poaching. Camera traps captured their trespassing, and a routine check of their mobile phones revealed disturbing videos and photos documenting the act – one accused even posing during the assault on the lizard.

According to forest officials, including Divisional Forest Officer Vishal Mali, the group gang-raped the Bengal monitor lizard – a protected species under India's Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 – in an act described as "perversion" and unprecedented in forest crime records. The lizard, the only one of its kind reported in parts of the reserve, suffered unimaginable trauma before being slaughtered, butchered, cooked over an open fire, and eaten by the accused. Eating monitor lizard meat, though illegal and culturally practiced in some regions of South Asia, adds a layer of poaching-fueled savagery to this already heinous crime.

The four Indian nationals were booked under multiple sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, facing potential seven-year imprisonment, with authorities exploring additional charges under bestiality laws (IPC Section 377) that could lead to life sentences. Shockingly, the accused were granted bail shortly after arrest, raising questions about enforcement in such cases.

This barbaric episode underscores a disturbing broader trend in India: rape cases have surged dramatically in recent years, with official data showing thousands of reported incidents annually against women and children. Now, even defenseless animals are not safe from sexual violence and extreme cruelty. Wildlife experts warn of zoonotic disease risks from such acts, while advocates point to a growing pattern of animal sexual abuse – with dozens of documented cases involving cows, goats, and other creatures over the past decade.

Forest officials expressed profound shock, with one stating, “I have never seen a crime like this.” The Bengal monitor lizard, capable of growing over five feet and an important part of the ecosystem, was reduced to a victim of unimaginable brutality – violated, murdered, and devoured.

This case serves as a grim reminder that in a nation grappling with escalating violence against the vulnerable – be it humans or wildlife – moral decay knows no bounds. Authorities must strengthen protections for endangered species and address the root causes of such pervasive cruelty before more innocent creatures suffer similar fates.