17 Monkeys Found Dead in Bemetara; Probe Underway

At least 17 monkeys were found killed in a village in Bemtara in Chhattisgarh. The forest department has initiated a probe. A Panchayat representative claimed that some workers fired on a group of monkeys.

Bemetara (Chhattisgarh):17 monkeys were found dead in the Saja block of Bemetra district of Chhattisgarh, forest officials said on Monday.

"A team comprising local officials and officials from the forest department including Deputy Range Officer Shravan Kumar Mandvi and Forest Guard Gajendra Singh Rajput visited Belgaon village and conducted a probe. A case under section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, has been registered against unidentified persons," a senior forest official said.

Sitaram Varma, a resident of ward number 5 of Belgaon village said that while he was returning home, he saw two people firing on monkeys. "When I asked them about it, they said they were employed by the farmers to protect the farms. The farmers were given them free ration. I made a complaint to the forest department. Two people enquired about the incident with the Sarpanch (village head). At least 17 monkeys have been killed," added Sitaram.

Senior Forest official Chandrashekhar Shankarsingh Pardeshi said, "We have recovered the decomposed carcass of four monkeys from the village. There is information that 18-19 monkeys are dead and we are conducting a probe. It is not possible to conduct a post-mortem of the carcasses as they are decomposed. The samples have been sent for a forensic probe and we are waiting for its report."

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Tekram Mishra said that he had deputed a tehsildar to the spot. "The carcasses of monkeys were found in a field. We are also probing the matter along with forest department officials. The Chhattisgarh Police have also detained a few suspects and they are being interrogated," added Mishra.

A villager on the conditions of anonymity said that the villagers were fed up with the monkeys and hence engaged workers to get rid of them.