17 monkeys shot dead in Chhattisgarh village, says panchayat member; forest department launches probe

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The forest department has initiated a probe into the reported deaths of 18 to 19 monkeys in a village in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district and recovered four rotten carcasses, a senior official said.

However, according to a panchayat representative, at least 17 monkeys were shot dead by two labourers hired by some villagers to chase away a pack of the simians, and accused the forest department of trying to cover up the incident, PTI reported.

Contesting the claim, a senior forest department official said the exact cause behind the death of the monkeys is yet to be ascertained, even as some suspects are being questioned.

"The alleged incident occurred on August 28 in Belgaon village when two persons hired by some villagers to chase away monkeys from a settlement opened fire using guns," Sitaram Verma, Panch of the Belgaon village panchayat, told PTI on Monday, adding that some monkeys also suffered injuries in the incident.

According to Verma, a meeting was recently called in the village to hire labourers to keep a check on simians which invade houses and damage crops.

"I disagreed with villagers because monkeys are worshipped as Lord Hanuman. I didn't agree to resort to such violent measures to harass them", he claimed.

Verma claimed authorities from the state government were alerted about the killing of monkeys but they visited the village two days after the incident on August 30 for panchnama.

"Carcasses of several monkeys were consumed by stray dogs. The forest department took away the rotten carcasses and skeletons of seven monkeys. Some of the injured monkeys died in the shooting while a few others escaped," he claimed.

According to Verma, he shared a video and photos of 17 dead monkeys with the authorities. He demanded a stern action against the culprits responsible for the deaths of the monkeys.

Durg Forest Division Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Chandrashekhar Pardeshi, under whose jurisdiction Bemetara falls, said the rotten carcasses of four monkeys have been recovered so far from the village.

"A search operation is going on in the area to assess information about the death of 18-19 monkeys," he said.

According to Pardeshi, a postmortem of carcasses was not possible given they were completely rotten.

"There are only skeletons left. Samples have been sent for forensic examination and further investigation is underway. Some suspects were being questioned in connection with the incident and action will be taken under the Wildlife Protection Act against the guilty," he said.

The DFO and officials of forest, administration, and police visited Belgaon village on September 1, Sunday, to inquire about the incident.

Another village representative, on the condition of anonymity, claimed that the villagers were shocked to see the labourers using guns against monkeys.

"In the past, the labourers tasked with tackling the monkey menace used bamboo sticks to scare them away. In return, such labourers were given rice by villagers," he said.

(With PTI inputs)