Kamal Ghorui
Berhampur: Forest officials on Tuesday arrested two persons in Kandhamal district for allegedly beating an adult female langur to death and uploading the incident on social media. The species is protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.The accused persons were identified as Manab Mallick (32) and Jaydev Mallick (21) of Salaguda in Baliguda police station limits in Kandhamal district. They were produced before the sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM) Baliguda and sent to judicial custody, said Manoranjan Bagh, assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Baliguda.A case under different sections of the Wildlife Act, has been registered against the duo in Baliguda forest range, after the range officer verified the video in social media and identified the accused, he said. During interrogation, the accused confessed to the killing of the langur on Feb 14, he said.The disturbing videos reveal that a man was beating the langur to death with a stick. One accused person was first seen attempting to separate an infant langur from the mother with a stick, while the mother langur was tethered by a rope. He then hit the adult langur’s head with a wooden stick, ultimately killing it.The infant langur was captured by the accused and displayed to children. He then picked up the dead mother langur’s body to show it off. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India), an organization working for welfare of the animals, reported about the video in the social media to the forest officials and urged them to take action against the accused.The ACF said during the inquiry they came to know the infant was taken by another monkey after the death of its mother. Further inquiry is on and other persons involved in the incident will be arrested soon, said Bagh.
