In an unusual event in Mumbai, various creatures, including pythons, monitor lizards, and a foreign lizard, were reportedly stolen from the Marine Aqua Zoo in Dadar's Shivaji Park area. This incident came to light after the zoo's trustees lodged a complaint with the police on Tuesday night, October 31. Prithviraj Pawar, a trustee of the Marine Aqua Zoo, filed the complaint, as reported by the Hindustan Times
The Marine Aqua Zoo, situated on Veer Savarkar Road, has been an established fixture in Dadar's Shivaji Park area. Pawar's complaint indicated that he was scheduled to transport the animals to Somaiya Vidyavihar school on Tuesday. However, upon arriving at the zoo in Shivaji Park, he made a disconcerting discovery - the animals were nowhere to be found. Despite conducting an extensive search in the vicinity, the animals remained missing.
According to reports, the stolen animals include six pythons, consisting of two ball pythons, two red-tail boas, one carpet python, and one blue-eyed Lucy ball python, collectively valued at around Rs 3 lakh. In addition, two Argentine tegu lizards worth Rs 1 lakh, one blue tongue skinks lizard valued at Rs 30,000, and an iguana lizard worth Rs 25,000 were reported missing.
Responding to Pawar's complaint, the Mumbai police have initiated an investigation and registered a case against unidentified individuals under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). An officer from the Shivaji Park police station stated, "We are checking the CCTV footage and inquiring into the matter."
The Marine Aqua Zoo has been in the spotlight since the first week of October, following the discovery of a crocodile in the neighbouring Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) swimming pool. Mumbai police official said that after the incident, forest officials visited the zoo and shut it down for some time.