Four held for 'raping' Bengal monitor lizard in Maharashtra forest
Mumbai, Apr 14: Four persons were arrested for allegedly raping a Bengal monitor lizard in Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) in Maharashtra, a forest official said on Wednesday.
The incident, which occurred at Gothane village in Ratnagiri district, came to light days after the four accused were booked for illegally entering Chandoli National Park, which is part of the reserve, with one of them carrying a gun for hunting, he said.
The accused were being probed after they were booked on March 31 for illegally entering the forest when the crime came to light, the official said.
The STR is spread over four districts of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri.
The accused were identified as Sandeep Tukaram Pawar, Mangesh Kamtekar, Akshay Kamtekar and Ramesh Ghag, he said.
"During the investigation, the forest officials found that the accused had allegedly raped a Bengal monitor lizard. Their act was also recorded in a mobile phone of one of the accused persons," he said.
"We have recovered all the related evidence from the accused and they were granted forest department custody initially, but are out on bail now," the forest official said.
They have been asked to mark their presence before the forest officer, who is probing the case, every Monday, he said.
"The four accused have been booked under various sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972," field director of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR), Nanasaheb Ladkat, said.
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Trained special forces deployed to safeguard major installations in Karnataka: HM G Parameshwara
Bengaluru, May 8 (PTI): The Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said well trained special forces are deployed to safeguard major installations in the state, in the wake of rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
He said, Superintendents of Police (SPs) in all districts have been sensitised, and they were given strict instructions on taking necessary precautionary measures.
Speaking to reporters here, Parameshwara said, "We have some special forces like Karnataka State Industrial Security Force. We deploy them for safeguarding major installations like in Raichur (thermal power station), Kaiga (nuclear power plant), and Krishna Raja Sagara Dam. They are all well trained and have received commando training,"
In response to a question whether the state has enough personnel in such forces, he said, "The available force was deployed. There is a requirement from them for additional strength. If we start requirement, it will take a year for training and other things, that process will go on continuously."
An advisory from the union government asked us to conduct mock drills at three places they mentioned and they have given a format for the drills too, Parameshwara said adding that they conducted a drill acordingly in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
"It will be held in various other places today, tomorrow and day after. The Centre has selected Karwar and Raichur to conduct the drills in addition to Bengaluru. We have included Mysuru in the list based on intelligent inputs and other reasons," he said.
