Maharashtra: 7 person detained by forest department for unearthing of monkey, pigeons

Seven persons were Saturday detained by the Maharashtra Forest department following the unearthing of monkeys and pigeons buried in the premises of an oil marketing firm in neighbouring Raigad district, police said. Acting on a tip-off, a Forest department team reached the premises of BPCL in Panvel's Posri area and exhumed the bodies of 31 monkeys and 14 pigeons, said Chief Conservator of Forests S R Kadam.

He said post-mortem was conducted by a veterinary doctor in Panvel and some body parts had been sent to the Haffkine Institute, a premier biomedical research facility, in Mumbai for further examination. Rasayani police station inspector Ashok Jagdale said that a case had been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Officials said of the eight persons detained in this regard, seven were attached to BPCL while one was an excavator driver.