GUWAHATI:
Five exotic monkeys and a wallaby were rescued from a vehicle at Hajo in Assam’s Kamrup district, on the night of April 27 night. The Forest department has arrested one person in connection to the case.
NK Sunny Deo Choudhury, divisional forest officer (DFO) of North Kamrup Forest Division, made the revelation on April 28, saying that one person, identified as Rahul Bafna, has been arrested while another fled the spot.
Acting on a tip off, a team of forest personnel, led by North Kamrup Forest Division range officer Sangeeta Rani Sinha, intercepted a vehicle at Hajo and recovered six cages with the animals in them, informed Choudhury.
Forest and wildlife officials are investigating the matter further, and are also interrogating the arrested person to find out from where the animals were caught and where they were being taken.
While the breed of the exotic monkeys is yet to be ascertained, the wallaby is a marsupial and is like a small kangaroo and is found in Australia and New Guinea.
Notably, several rare and exotic animals, which do not belong to Assam, have been recovered from the state from time to time hinting at an organised animal trafficking racket operating in Assam.