A joint team of the Commissionerate Police and Forest department on Monday rescued as many as five monitor lizards from a slum near Jharpada-Rasulgarh canal in the Capital city and detained two persons on charges of selling the reptile meat.
The two detainees have been identified as G Krishna and G Raghav.
During patrolling, the Laxmi Sagar police came across a large gathering in the slum and went to the spot to ascertain the reason behind the crowding during lockdown, sources said.
During the course of inquiry, police unearthed the trade of the reptile's meat and detained two persons in this connection. Later, the police informed the Forest department.
The Forest department personnel rescued more than five monitor lizards from the slum and took the duo into custody for further investigation, sources added.
"Some unknown people had kept the monitor lizards at our home. We have no clue from where they brought the reptiles. My brother is innocent," said relatives of the accused.