Prime accused held

Durg SP Dipanshu Kabra said they had received a tip-off about a man trying to sell some exotic monkeys. “We sent our man as an interested buyer and trapped Rajesh Saikia,who was trying to sell the marmosets,” said Kabra. Saikia was produced in the Durg court on Saturday and has been granted a transit remand.

Saikia allegedly claimed that Bubai had given him the marmosets and asked him to keep them in his custody. He had kept them at his home where one of the younger ones had died,whose body he allegedly buried in his backyard.

Police said Saikia,originally from Guwahati,was now settled in Raipur. He was reported to have been arrested before and lodged in a Pune jail for selling exotic macaws.

“We believe that he met Bubai in Pune jail and they were both involved in the racket of selling exotic species,” said a Chhattisgarh police officer.

Javed Shamim,Joint commissioner (HQ),said they did not suspect an organised racket behind the theft. “We believe this incident and the earlier one where miscreants tried to enter the zoo are related. Since they were unsuccessful at that time,they decided to try again,” said Shamim.

“Usually in case of a racket,the animals are never left with a middleman and there are always buyers lined up before such operations. But the way these accused have been trying to sell off the animals shows no big organised racket was behind it,” he added. Shamim said the lax in security made it easy for the miscreants to sneak in and steal the animals.

The Chhattisgarh Police are now claiming the reward their Kolkata counterparts have announced on the recovery of monkeys. “We told the Kolkata police that our boys deserve the amount. They have agreed and we hope our boys get the prize money soon,” said Kabra.

Raju Das,Alipore Zoo director,said the animals would be quarantined for 15 days after they are brought back. “We do not know how they were kept or if they have contacted any disease. So,they will be quarantined for 15 days before being displayed in the zoo,” said Raju.