Two arrested for theft of rare monkeys from West Bengal zoo

Kolkata, August 10: Two security guards at the Alipur zoo were arrested Monday for their alleged involvement in the stealing of Brazilian monkey Sunday.
“We’ve arrested two security guards, Ashok Patra of Hooghly district and Shyam Sundar Ghosh of South 24 Parganas’ Sonarpur area, who were on duty that night to take care of the enclosure,” Kolkata Police deputy commissioner (port division) Asit Pal said.

Eight rare Brazilian monkeys were found mysteriously stolen from Kolkata’s famous Alipore Zoological Garden Sunday morning.

Later, a complaint was registered with the Kolkata police along with the names of the two security personnel and also the private agency that employed them for the job.

Altogether 16 rare Brazilian monkeys, each two feet in height, had been brought to Alipore zoo in 2001.

Meanwhile, Alipur Zoological Garden director Subir Chowdhury has also been suspended after a high-level meeting with senior state forest department officials.

Sources said Raju Das, who is at present holding the post of a joint director of Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, has been given the additional charge of the post.

—IANS