Police personnel cremates dead monkey as per Hindu rituals in Odisha

The monkey used to live on a tree in the compound of the Balichandrapur police station, officials said.

Jajpur: A dead monkey was cremated as per the Hindu rituals by personnel of a police station in Odisha’s Jajpur district.

The monkey used to live on a tree in the compound of the Balichandrapur police station, officials said.

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Finding it dead, the police personnel who shared a bond with the animal decided to give it a befitting cremation, instead of handing over the body to the Forest Department, they said.

“The monkey used to live on a tree on our police station campus. It was very familiar with all of our staff as it used to roam around and we used to give it food,” said Bijayini Mallha, the inspector-in-charge of the police station.

Suddenly, the monkey was found dead on Tuesday, she said, adding that the animal was old and ailing.

“We were deeply shocked over the death of the animal that was very dear to us and like a family member. Hence, we decided to perform its last rites in a befitting manner,” she said.

The police personnel garlanded the dead monkey, paid their respects, and carried it in a procession to the cremation site, where the rituals were held as per Hindu tradition, she added.