Kolkata, August 10: A day after eight rare species of marmosets (Brazilian monkeys) were stolen from the century-old Alipore zoo here, the West Bengal government today suspended its director Subir Choudhury as police arrested two private guards on duty at the time of the theft.
“The next director will be named shortly,” state Forest Minister Ananta Roy told PTI.
An alert was sounded in the state’s border areas and security tightened in Howrah and Sealdah railway stations as also in the airport to prevent smuggling of the marmosets.
Officials said the two private guards in charge of the cages where the monkeys were kept had been arrested and a CID team visited the zoo during the day.
Zoo sources said the matter came to light yesterday when attendants found a part of the monkeys’ cage broken and eight of the simians missing. The matter was under investigation.
Four of the eight missing simians were full-grown.
Altogether 16 Brazilian monkeys were brought to Alipore zoo in 2001 but some of them perished after failing to adjust to the weather conditions. There is a high demand for the species in zoological research due to their genetic proximity to human beings. A pair costs about USD 3,000.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress and Congress staged protest demonstrations in the zoo condemning security lapses and demanding resignation of Forest Minister Ananta Roy.
Dipa Dasmunshi, MP (Congress) submitted a memorandum to the zoo director, demanding action.
—Agencies