Jajpur: YouTuber Monalisa Bhadra and her husband Badrinarayan, who allegedly domesticated Langurs and shared their videos on social media platforms, surrendered before Forest officials in Odisha’s Jajpur district after absconding for four days.
A team of Forest personnel, led by ranger Jyoti Ranjan Mohapatra, had on March 24 conducted raid on the house of Badrinarayan Bhadra and wife Monalisa at Jahala under Sadar police limits in the district. But the couple absconded before the arrival of the Forest officials.
The ranger had said that taking selfie with wild animals and posting them on social media platforms is a criminal offence as it violates Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
However, the couple absconded before the raid team reached their residence.
According to a source, Monalisa and her husband were previously warned not to post photos and videos taken with wild animals and to refrain from such illegal activity. The couple had allegedly domesticated a few Langurs (a species of monkey) at their residence.
The couple had given a written undertaking in 2022 to refrain from such illegal activities. However, they did not abstain from doing so and action will be taken against them, the forest official said.
