共犯は「サル」　強盗させた男２人逮捕　インド

【ニューデリーＡＦＰ＝時事】インドの首都ニューデリーの警察は、サルを使って通行人らから金品を奪っていたとして、男２人を逮捕したと明らかにした。（写真は資料写真）
　被害者の１人が、サルを連れた男３人に囲まれて６０００ルピー（約８８００円）を取られたと警察に通報したことから逮捕に至った。
　当局者によると、被害者が三輪タクシー（オートリクシャー）に乗っていたところ、男らが乗り込んできて、前と後ろの座席に１匹ずつサルを座らせ、財布から金を奪わせた。男らはサルと一緒に逃走した。
　警察は、過去にも同様の手口の犯罪が起きており背後にギャング団がいるとし、捜査本部を設置。８日にバス停にいた男２人を逮捕した。「共犯」のサルたちは動物保護センターに移送された。３人目の男は現在も逃走している。
　インドの都市部では、サルが住宅に入り込み食べ物をあさるなどサルの脅威が問題になっている。しかし、１９７２年の法律で市民によるサルの捕獲は禁止されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/04/12-12:31）

Two men who roamed the Indian capital using monkeys to rob unsuspecting victims have been arrested, New Delhi police said Saturday.
The pair were apprehended after one victim complained to officers that three men carrying monkeys had surrounded and robbed him of 6,000 rupees ($80), a local police official told AFP.
Authorities across India have been grappling with the menace posed by monkeys in Delhi and other populated cities, where they often enter homes in search of food.
But it is illegal for Indians to capture them under a 1972 law.
When the victim was sitting in an autorickshaw, the men also entered (the vehicle) and asked one monkey to sit on the front seat and another at the back, the official said.
They took the money the lawyer had in his wallet and fled with the monkeys.
Police suspected the gang were behind other similar thefts and officers set up a dedicated team to track down the culprits, who were arrested Thursday at a bus stop along with their animal accomplices.
The third thief is still at large while the monkeys have been sent to an animal rescue centre.
Monkeys are often trained as street performers in India and incidences of the hairy simians attacking residents are not uncommon.
Last year a troop of monkeys attacked a medical official and snatched blood samples of patients who had tested positive for coronavirus in Meerut city in northern India.