Hyderabad’s forensic genetic investigators have discovered a wildlife crime that involves the mystical mystery and how poachers might deceive the unwary. Little bits of plant material were sent to the DNA investigators in Hyderabad for examination. The plant materials were really the gonads of a male Bengal monitor lizard that the poachers in Tamil Nadu had killed.
Through their DNA analysis, the team of experts from Hyderabad’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) assisted Tamil Nadu investigators in solving the case and bringing the poachers to justice. The study was published as a case study in Springer Nature in September 2024.
The poachers plucked the forked penises of monitor lizards and sold them to others under false pretenses as the roots of Martynia annua, a rare plant that believers utilize in occult rituals. In order to make it more difficult for investigators to make an accurate identification, the poachers altered the monitor lizards’ penises to resemble the plant roots, which resemble folded hands.
According to the CCMB researchers, forensic genetic evidence is an effective means of obtaining convictions for crimes involving wildlife. The illegal trade in “Hatha Jodi,” a plant root from Martynia annua, involves the bifurcated hemipenes (gonads) of any of the four species of Monitor lizards present in India. A unique plant root is shown as a potent charm that can bestow wealth and good fortune on its owner. In order to support the “Hatha Jodi” trade, there is a suspected widespread poaching of monitors in India, according to the CCMB researchers’ article.
Since its meat is regarded as a delicacy and is said to have therapeutic qualities, monitor lizards are frequently poached. Research has shown that items made from monitor lizards are used to cure a number of illnesses, including rheumatism, arthritis, asthma, and hemorrhoids. The researchers stated that the genital organs of Monitor lizards are utilized for human wellness and are distributed under the name “Hatha Jodi,” which is the root of the Tiger’s Claw plant.
-Raja Aditya
