Two men were arrested for allegedly using monkeys to threaten and rob people in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area, police said on Friday. The accused duo, Balwan Nath (26) and Vikram Nath (23), were waiting near Chirag Delhi bus stand with their two monkeys when the police team nabbed them on Thursday, they said.
The police said the two monkeys have been deposited with Wildlife SOS centre. The accused, who are residents of Okhla Mor in the city, along with their third associate, Ajay used monkeys to threaten people and rob them of their valuables, police said, adding efforts are being taken to catch hold of Ajay, who is still absconding.
The accused men had caught the monkeys from Tughlakabad Fort jungle around three months ago. The matter came to light on March 2, when an advocate from Khirki Extension reported that three men carrying monkeys surrounded them and forcefully robbed Rs 6,000 from him, according to police.
When the lawyer was sitting in an auto-rickshaw, the duo made the monkeys sit inside the vehicle with one in the front and the other at the back seat and demanded money from him. When the advocate took out the wallet, the duo robbed him and escaped. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said, ”A case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 392 (punishment for robbery) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) at Malviya Nagar police station and since it was a peculiar incident involving monkeys, a dedicated team was constituted to nab the culprits.” Further, relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 were added against the accused in the case, he said.
The team scanned through several CCTV footages and conducted raids in and around Delhi based on inputs from sources and informers, the officer said. ”On Thursday, our team got a tip-off that two men with monkeys were present at Chirag Delhi bus stand who had committed the robbery earlier and could commit further thefts. We acted upon the information and apprehended them along with the two monkeys,” the officer said.
During interrogation, the duo confessed to their involvement in the incident along with their associate Ajay who is absconding, he said. The arrested accused are being further interrogated for their other involvements if any, police said.
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