Mathura: Police have launched an investigation after over a dozen monkeys were found dead with airgun wounds near a pilgrimage area in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district over Sunday and Monday, sparking protests from religious groups who said the killings had offended religious sentiments.
Authorities said initial examinations revealed signs of airgun wounds, but police have sent the bodies of all the monkeys found in Anyaur village—along the sacred circumambulation path of the Govardhan mountain—for post-mortem.
Goverdhan police station in-charge Ravi Tyagi said a case has been registered under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, against Janaki Das Maharaj, the operator of a local ashram, and Braj Sundar Das, a “Ukrainian national staying at the ashram as a sadhu”.
“The accused are being questioned and the airgun has been sent for forensic examination,” Tyagi said to ThePrint.
According to police, Braj Sundar Das said he initially used slingshots to scare away the monkeys that frequently stole items from the ashram, but switched to an airgun when that failed. He claimed he didn’t realise it could be fatal.
The police have confiscated the airgun and sent it for forensic examination, which will determine the type used.
Villagers allege that he deliberately targeted the monkeys with an airgun. Madhav Singh, a local public representative who filed the complaint, along with several religious organisations, has demanded the immediate arrest of the accused Ukrainian national.
ThePrint reached the Embassy of Ukraine via text. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Hindu organisations, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Hindustani Biradari, and local cow protection groups, staged protests in Anyaur village Monday, stating that the killings had hurt religious sentiments in an area where monkeys are revered as symbols of Lord Hanuman.
“This is not only a violation of the law, but also a direct attack on religious tolerance. Such acts cannot be tolerated in the Giriraj area,” said the Hindustani Biradari Vice-Chairman Vishal Sharma.
He also pointed to a legal grey area surrounding airgun ownership in India. “The legality of airguns in India is governed by The Arms Rules, 2016. Airguns of .177 calibre, 4.5 mm and power less than 20 joules are exempted from license, but there are no such clear rules for .22 bore airguns, due to which killing of big animals is also possible with such airguns,” he said. “This incident could have happened with a powerful airgun of the prohibited bore, the unlicensed use of which is illegal and was restricted by the earlier UPA government by including it in the Arms Act.”
A panel of veterinary officers has conducted the post-mortem examinations, and the report is expected within 3 days. Further action will be based on its findings.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)