Police have solved the case of the mysterious deaths of monkeys in Kashipur, Uttarakhand. The monkeys were poisoned and put to death in order to preserve the mangoes in an orchard. A total of nine persons, identified as Jaan Muhammad and Imamuddin (the orchard contractors) and their employees Chhote Khan, Imran, Afzal, Anwar, Iqrar Shah, Nadeem, and Mubarak, residents of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh have been arrested in this case. The dead bodies of eight monkeys were found on June 18 by women who went to the orchard.
काशीपुर में जैतपुर फार्म के पास 90 एकड़ में फैले आम के बाग में 2 दर्जन से अधिक मृत्यु अवस्था में मिले बंदरों के मुंह में लग था आटा! https://t.co/HlpqWBm7Td@dm_usnagar @UdhamSNagarPol @bastipolice @DIGKUMAUN @moradabadpolice @IASDeepakRawat1 @DIGGarhwalRange @naveenjourno pic.twitter.com/5ipf1AtgSO
— Khemraj Verma (@khemraj_ra) June 19, 2023
The incident took place near the ITI police station in Kashipur. Sandeep Sharma of Delhi has a mango orchard here and Jaan Mohammad was offered a two-year lease on the orchard by him. The latter presently lives in Kashipur, Jaitpura Farm, and kept Imamuddin, Chhote Khan, Imran, Afzal, Anwar, Iqrar Shah, Nadeem, and Mubarak with him to look after the grove.
During interrogation, the perpetrators admitted that their business was incurring losses after taking the orchard on lease, according to deputy superintendent of police, Vandana Sharma, and the monkeys were held responsible for this. Therefore, they sprinkled poisonous drugs on the mangoes to get rid of the simians which resulted in the death of eight of them. Following the death of the monkeys, they dug a pit and kept them in a mango crate and covered it with leaves.
When women from the nearby village arrived at the orchard on Sunday evening to cut grass for their animals, they found a baby monkey clutching its dead mother and several other dead monkeys nearby. The people around quickly learned about the same and immediately congregated. They were outraged and demanded strong action against the culprits.
Police were then notified of the incident. They arrived at the scene, and the carcasses which were hidden in the bushes and some buried in the ground were uncovered by them and sent for a postmortem.
They police also found bottles of poisonous medicines in the garden, which were taken into custody. They have sent all the offenders to jail after producing them before a court. They are charged under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Wildlife Protection Act, and Section 295-A (malicious intention of outraging religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code. Sandeep Sharma will reportedly also face penalties under the Police Act.
