BARIPADA: The forest staff of Karanjia division in Mayurbhanj district on Thursday arrested a tribal YouTuber on charges of uploading a video of him cooking the meat of a monitor lizard on social media.
The accused is Rupa Naik (26) of Asanabani village under Thakurmunda police limits.
Sources said Rupa had gone to his in-laws’ place in Bhadrak four days back. While returning from Bhadrak to Thakurmunda, he reportedly found the carcass of a monitor lizard lying at the roadside near Banta. He brought the carcass home, carefully removed its skin, and cooked the meat. He filmed the entire process and uploaded the video on YouTube and other social media platforms on August 18.
As the video clip went viral, forest officials came across it on Facebook and registered a case against Rupa. After investigation, the YouTuber was detained. During interrogation on Thursday, he reportedly confessed to his crime. Accordingly, a case was registered under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the YouTuber arrested, said Karanjia DFO Baidyanath Majhi.