22 monkeys dead in Dokarbela, Bemetara; Police and Forest Department teams in action, murder suspected
Ranger Madhuri Singh said that forensic examination of the bodies will be conducted. Additional SP Harish Yadav said information was received via social media.
Bemetara: A tragic news of cruelty towards wildlife has emerged from Dokarbela in Devgaon village. Here, in the limits of the Dahri police station area, 22 monkeys died all at once. It is alleged that a crop watchman opened indiscriminate fire with his gun, allegedly killing 22 monkeys.
Following the alleged mass killing of 22 monkeys, there is an atmosphere of anger in the area. People say that if the monkeys were killed, the culprit must be punished. Police stated that they also received information about the deaths of the monkeys through social media. Police have claimed that if the investigation reveals that the monkeys were killed, strict action will be taken against the guilty. Residents of Devgaon village stated that a similar incident occurred last year in Belgaon of the Saja block.
While the police learned about the incident through social media, local residents also came to know about it from social media, leading to widespread anger among the people. People are questioning how anyone could shoot monkeys with such brutality. Residents say that even if the monkeys were destroying crops, measures could have been taken to drive them away; killing monkeys out of anger is in no way appropriate or justified.
Some local villagers even claim that a total of 22 monkeys were killed one after another. It is also being said that many monkeys were severely injured. According to local villagers, watchmen are deployed in some places to protect crops from stray cattle and monkeys. In return, the watchman is given 2 kg of rice per day by each farmer, and in exchange, the watchman protects the farmers' crops. People say the watchman should have chased the monkeys away rather than killing them.
"Our team visited the spot and collected evidence to determine the cause of death. Remains of 2 monkeys have been found, which have been sent for post-mortem. Forensic examination of the bodies will also be conducted. Questioning of villagers is underway. Further action will be ensured based on the post-mortem and forensic reports." — Madhuri Singh, Ranger, Bemetara Forest Department
"We received information about the entire sequence of events through social media. We will take proper legal action after receiving a written complaint." — Harish Yadav, Additional SP, Bemetara
Immediately after the incident, angry villagers united and filed a complaint with the Forest Department Ranger and local police. Upon receiving the complaint, a joint team of the departments reached the spot on Saturday and tried to ascertain the actual number of dead monkey carcasses. Afterwards, the carcasses of the monkeys were sent for post-mortem. The official confirmation of the exact cause of death and the weapon used will be possible only after the post-mortem report arrives. Forest department officials have assured villagers that an impartial investigation will be conducted and a case under the Wildlife Protection Act will be registered against the guilty party.