The forest department has launched an investigation into the reported death of 18 to 19 monkeys in a village in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district and recovered four rotten carcasses, a senior official said.
A panchayat representative, however, claimed that 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.
Contesting the claim, a senior forest department official said the exact cause behind the death of 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.
Some monkeys were also injured in the incident, he said.
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 horticulture 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 state government authorities 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 rotten carcasses and skeletons of seven monkeys. Some of the injured monkeys died while a few others escaped," he claimed.
According to Verma, he shared a video and photos of 17 dead monkeys with authorities.
Verma alleged that the forest department has been trying to cover up the incident and demanded a stern action against the culprits.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Durg forest division, 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 the 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," he said.
Pardeshi said the confirmation is awaited on the circumstances and the timing of the incident (death of monkeys).
"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 Sunday to inquire about the incident.
Another village representative wishing anonymity claimed villagers were shocked when labourers used guns against monkeys.
"In the past, 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.
