Two arrested for selling animal genitalia over superstitious beliefs

India: Two men were arrested from Rewari on Tuesday for allegedly selling genitals of male monitor lizards and jackals over the last four months through social media, in collaboration with a few astrologers in Delhi-NCR, to people with superstitious beliefs, the police said. The monitor lizard is a protected species under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1

A joint team of police and Gurugram and Rewari wildlife officials conducted a raid, posing as customers, and arrested them, after the Rewari officials were tipped off about the trades.

Devender Kumar, a wildlife inspector from Rewari, approached the suspects posing as a customer and finalised a deal for buying the animal parts near Rewari railway station and were arrested during the same.

Officials said they operated through mobile phones and social media and had no office or shop to run their operations.

MS Malik, chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Gurugram, said that a team of the Haryana forest department, Haryana Police, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, and Wildlife Trust of India conducted a raid around 4pm on Tuesday and arrested them near the Rewari railway station.

(Source: The Hindustan Times)