Hathras: In a shocking incident, carcasses of more than 100 monkeys were found after they died due to inhaling a pesticide sprayed in a food godown. The godown owners discreetly buried the bodies in a pit but were busted by the authorities in the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh.
The deaths came to light after a team of veterinarians dug out the bodies and sent them for post-mortem on Friday.
Circle Officer Yogendra Krishna Narayan reported that police were informed about the deaths on Wednesday and have registered a case against employees of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). An investigation is underway.
According to police, the incident involved aluminium phosphide, a chemical sprayed on wheat sacks in an FCI warehouse on November 7 to protect against insects and rodents. A troop of monkeys entered the warehouse through a broken window that night and inhaled the toxic gas.
When workers opened the warehouse on November 9, they discovered several dead monkeys. Instead of reporting the incident to their superiors, they allegedly buried the bodies in a pit.
The Circle Officer stated that the bodies were exhumed after leaders of the Vishva Hindu Parishad learned of the incident. Police recovered over 100 monkey carcasses, which were found in an advanced stage of decay.
