Forest officials today booked four persons, including two traffic policemen, for allegedly poaching a monitor lizard in this east Maharashtra district.
Forest department also seized meat of the reptile from a hotel located on Chandrapur-Nagpur road last night even as the suspects who believed to have hunted the lizard and transported its meat managed to give the forest officials team a slip.
Three other police personnel who are suspected to be involved in the crime are not traceable, a senior officer said.
"We have apprehended owner of the hotel and booked two cops attached to traffic control department among four in this regard. We also seized a motorbike from outside the hotel, which we suspect belonged to one of the policemen," said investigating officer and Assistant Conservator of Forests (Non-buffer) Raju Pawar.
When contacted, SP Rajiv Jain confirmed the incident but refused to divulge name of the police personnel involved.
"We will initiate strict action against the guilty after we receive report from the forest department," he told PTI.
