Runaway zoo marmoset thief caught again

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Runaway monkey thief caught again

 

KOLKATA, 31 AUG: Just two days after he was arrested in Chhattisgarh, the main

accused in the marmosets theft case, Rajesh Saikia, escaped from police custody

today on the train in which he was being brought to Kolkata ~ only to be caught

again late tonight.

Saikia, who was being brought to the city by the Ahmedabad Express on transit

remand, was found missing when the train stopped at Jharsuguda station in

Orissa.

But he was caught again from the Raipur-Durg region in Chhattisgarh while he was

trying to head back home, said Mr Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti, city police

commissioner. “Local people along with the (local) police helped us apprehend

him,” Mr Chakrabarti said,

According to police, two constables ~ Samseer Khan and DG Mahato ~ were guarding

Saikia when he escaped. Passengers in the same compartment said the two

constables were fast asleep when the train reached Jharsuguda around 5 a.m.

Taking advantage of the situation, the accused slipped his hand out of the

handcuffs and quietly stole away. When the train left Jharsuguda station, the

constables noticed that Rajesh was missing. They alerted the officers and the

train was stopped. Subsequently a complaint was lodged with the local police and

a massive hunt was started in the area.

Police said that as all the police and zoo officials bringing Saikia as well as

the recovered marmosets could not fit in one compartment, the two constables

were entrusted to guard the accused, while Mr Debashis Sarkar, additional

officer-in-charge of burglary department, Mr Prasenjit Bhattacharya, the

investigating officer and Mr Shusanta Bhattacharya, additional director of the

zoo were in separate compartments, though in the same bogie.

The seven recovered marmosets, meanwhile, reached Santragachi station safely

around 2. p.m. The marmosets were later taken to the veterinary hospital of

Alipore zoo, where they are being kept in quarantine. Mr Raju Das, zoo director,

said tests are being done to find out if they have picked up any infections. SNS

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4956245.cms

Zoo theft kingpin flees as cops doze on train

TNN 31 August 2009, 10:40pm IST

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KOLKATA

/SAMBALPUR: Raj Saikia, the kingpin of the theft of Brazilian marmosets from

Alipore zoo on August 9, gave dozing policemen the slip on

Monday while being brought from Chhattisgarh to Kolkata in an AC 2-tier coach of

Ahmedabad Express.

 

The police personnel woke up when the train reached Orissa's Jharsuguda station

and found that Raj had vanished, leaving his handcuffs behind. Sources said some

of his aides, who were in the same compartment, had offered the policemen food,

following which they fell asleep.

 

Investigators say Raj, who was arrested at Durg in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, may

be hiding near Jharsuguda. A man at the railway station told policemen that a

person had asked him the way to the main road.

 

While Kolkata Police joint commi-ssioner (headquarters) Jawed Shamin immediately

contacted Jharsuguda SP Kavita Jalan, a team of seven personnel has reached

Jharsuguda. " If there are any lapses on the part of the police personnel, strong

action will be taken against them, " Shamim said.

 

Police are also checking out Raj's two addresses one at Raipur, the other at

Kurla, which belongs to his wife Rekha Gaikwad.

 

The team that let Raj slip away comprised an inspector, a sub-inspector,

investigating officer P Bhattacharyya and two constables. They had boarded the

train at Bilaspur station accompanied by zoo assistant director Sumanta

Bhattacharjee and two zookeepers. While four policemen, Raj and Bhattacharjee

travelled in a two-tier compartment, the zoo-keepers were in the three-tier

bogie. Since there was no berth available for Raj, he was accommodated with the

two constables.

 

Jharsuguda station, meanwhile, witnessed strange scenes. A few policemen began

chasing a person soon after the train arrived. He disappeared before the chasing

party could get hold of him. " I was told he was handcuffed and tied to the

compartment. But how did he slip away? A search is on for him, " Jharsuguda GRP

OIC M D Patel said. " The possibility that the accused took any other train

cannot be ruled out. Had Kolkata Police informed us immediately, it would have

been difficult for him to flee Jharsuguda, " the officer added.

 

In Kolkata, the marmosets were deboarded at Santragachi station. From there they

were was transported to the zoo hospital. Zoo director Raju Das said: " Our

veterinary experts have checked them up. They will be kept under observation in

isolation for some days. After 15 days, they can be brought back to the zoo's

exhibition area. We are also monitoring whether they have undergoner any

behavioural changes. "

 

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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090901/jsp/frontpage/story_11435008.jsp

 

Monkey business on train

- Alleged thief escapes from under cops’ nose, caught later

A STAFF REPORTER

 

The marmosets in Calcutta before being taken to the zoo hospital. (Bishwarup

Datta)

Calcutta, Aug. 31: The alleged marmoset thief made a monkey out of Calcutta

police early this morning, casually walking off a train while being brought back

from Chhattisgarh under handcuffs.

 

Raj Saikia was re-arrested late tonight, so police will have ample time to ask

him which had been easier to pull off: his own escape or his alleged theft of

eight Common Marmosets from Alipore zoo, for which he was arrested by

Chhattisgarh police on Friday.

 

Raj, 33, had ambled off when the Down Ahmedabad Express stopped at Orissa’s

Jharsuguda station at 4.45am on its way to Howrah. The embarrassment left DIG,

headquarters, Jawed Shamim groping for an explanation in Calcutta.

 

Maybe it was because “the handcuff sat very loose on his slender hands”, Shamim

reasoned. “Or maybe the constables had dozed off.”

 

Raj, however, made a mistake. He got into another train back to Chhattisgarh’s

Durg, the site of his August 28 arrest. Local policemen and six Calcutta

officers sent there this afternoon grabbed him as he got down at 11.45pm.

 

Earlier, Calcutta police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti had to face the

query why he shouldn’t accept responsibility and resign.

 

After the August 9 marmoset theft, the forest department had sacked zoo director

S. Chowdhury and overhauled the 15-member management committee.

 

Drawing such a parallel, Chakrabarti said, would be “improper” ----- the zoo

director had only a particular zoo to take care of while the police chief had to

look after his entire force and not just one unit.

 

“I don’t think this is the right parallel. But I know the best team was sent for

the job and an officer of the rank of inspector was there to lead it, which

should have been enough,” the commissioner said.

 

He promised to be stern: “If four persons can’t get an accused back, there is

definitely negligence on their part and we’ll take necessary action against

them.”

 

Detective department inspector Debasish Sarkar, sub-inspector Prosenjit

Bhattacharya and two constables had boarded the train with Raj and three

Calcutta zoo officials at Bilaspur station around 12.30am.

 

The four policemen, a zoo assistant director and Raj were in an AC two-tier

coach while the two other zoo employees were in an AC three-tier compartment

with the seven recovered marmosets in two cages.

 

Chhattisgarh police had failed to recover one of the eight stolen marmosets from

Raj alias Rajesh of Guwahati, who has a record of dealing in rare animals and

birds in Mumbai and Pune.

 

“The two constables, Samsher Khan and D.G. Mahato, were the first to notice that

Raj was missing and informed the officers. The train was still in the

(Jharsuguda) station but they failed to trace Raj,” a senior police officer

said.

 

A team of six officers led by an assistant commissioner was sent to Jharsuguda

this afternoon to conduct a probe. “We will take actions on the basis of this

report,” Chakrabarti said.

 

The city police brass have got in touch with Jharsuguda police chief Kavita

Jalan and drawn up a joint “manhunt plan” to trace Raj. “Our energies and

resources right now are directed towards getting him back,” DIG Shamim said.

 

Sources said Calcutta police had released a photograph of Raj to district police

chiefs across the country. A photograph was also sent to all local news channels

along with details on Raj, including the numbers of his three mobile phones.

 

“Our team is on the job and we are checking possible hideouts,” said Murali

Patel, officer-in-charge, Government Railway Police, Jharsuguda.

 

 

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Thank you for your compassion !

With best regards,

Debasis Chakrabarti

Compassionate Crusaders Trust

http://www.animalcrusaders.org