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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
PUNE, Sept 3: With the arrest of two suspected poachers from Mangalwar Peth on Wednesday, the police have recovered ten lizards and a tortoise, both are scheduled as an endangered species and are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The incident came to light when Mohit Bhog, a student of the Symbiosis Society's Law College saw Butra Singh Thakur and his brother Bhai Singh selling the lizards at Juna bazaar. He immediately informed the police at Gadital police chowky who arrested the duo.
According to Neelimkumar Khaire of Peshwe Park the reptiles are known as the Spiny Tailed Lizard are a rare species. ``They are boiled in mustard oil by quacks who con people into believing that they can be used for medicinal purposes,'' he said.
``The lizards were found with their spines broken,'' pointed out Amol Khedigar, a volunteer at the Snake Park, ``so that they could not run away. They are kept like that and when a customer approaches the quack they are boiled in oil which they claim has medicinal properties.'' According to Kehigar this is completely untrue and the oil had no medical properties. ``These lizards are usually found in the coastal areas of Gujarat but are rarely found in Maharashtra.''
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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