Following stepped up patrolling in the Batala area, honorary wildlife warden, Gurdaspur, nabbed a group of poachers for hunting down the monitor lizard, a highly endangered species.

About 4 ft in size, the lizard was recovered in a pitiable state as its tail was ruthlessly wrapped around its neck which, in turn, was injured on account of a deep incision effected by poachers.

Even fingers of the reptile's front feet were coiled around to freeze movement and all possibilities of escape.

Arrested by Mr Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa, honorary wildlife warden, Gurdaspur, along the track of the canal near Bhamri village in the Batala area, the four poachers admitted to being habitual eaters of the monitor lizard's meat.

On further investigation the offenders confessed that they had been killing this lizards to eat for a long time and on an average they killed 10 to 12 such animals every month.

While three among the four arrested belong to the "Shikligar tribe" notorious for hunting such animals, one was identified as a youth from a nearby village. The offenders include Tilak Raj, Naru, Parkash and Bhola, all residents of Udhanwaal village near Batala.

They were booked for violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and were sent to judicial remand for indulging in poaching of an endangered animal. The Wildlife and Forest Department officials have also been informed about the arrests and proper action is being initiated against the offenders.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Bajwa informed The Tribune that the poachers were arrested with 10 dogs, digging sickles and a mobile phone which they were using to receive information about the movement of rare animals in the forest rich area.

"They were carrying a bag which, when searched, was found to be containing the monitor lizard. It was breathing but was seriously injured.

It was so brutally trapped that I had to seek help from my security men to disentangle its body parts. All its fingers were broken.

The way it was tied shows the poachers were very experienced at handling such creatures. The monitor lizard can sometimes bite back, besides causing injury with its nails. That's why they had taken all precautions to restrict its movement."

The area from where the hunters were arrested has a dense growth of trees and bushes. It is rich in wildlife, especially partridges, rabbits, jungle cat and peacocks.