Uttar Pradesh: Man swallows live lizard after being accused of rape in Kanpur

The man was brought to the police station for questioning when he fainted after swallowing a live lizard.

Kanpur: In a bizarre incident, a youth accused of raping a woman allegedly swallowed a live lizard in a bid to prevent the police from arresting him in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, officials said on Monday. Following the suspected suicide incident, the complainant woman has withdrawn the complaint against Mahesh. The youth has been identified as Mahesh, a resident of Mallawan area of Kanpur.

It is learnt that the incident took place late on Sunday night at the Sadh Police Station in Kanpur where the accused was brought by the police for his questioning in an alleged rape case. A police official said that accused Mahesh has been accused by a woman of raping her. A police official said that as soon as Mahesh was brought the police station, he fainted as the cops involved in the investigation were completing the legal formalities.

As the cops involved in the probe of the case approached him, they saw a lizard in Mahesh's mouth. Without delay, the policemen rushed Mahesh to Bhitargaon CHC for treatment. An official said that the doctors at the health facility removed the lizard from Mahesh's stomach. Mahesh is said to be stable. After an improvement in his health, cops from the Sadh police station formally arrested Mahesh on Monday in the alleged rape case.

However, the woman has withdrawn her complaint accusing Mahesh of rape. An official said that when Mahesh was asked why he ate the lizard, he said that he did so for fear of going to jail. SAD police station in-charge Vijay Shukla said that Mahesh was arrested on the basis of a complaint by a woman accusing him of sexually assaulting her.

The villagers also said that the woman had gone with Mahesh at her own will.