Monkeying around with the law? 'Langur-handler' tests positive for Covid-19, puts authorities in a fix

Hopefully, government officials are aware langurs cannot be legally hired.

By ET Bureau | May 19, 2020, 08.40 AM IST

It could, however, just be a case of mistaken identity — simian, not human — as langur and handler may both be Homo sapiens, so as to not fall foul of that law.

As langurs are listed under Schedule-II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and cannot be owned, traded, bought, sold or — crucially — hired out, reports of a ‘langur-handler’ testing positive for Covid-19 at Rail Bhavan in the Capital recently appears to suggest authorities might have been monkeying around with the law.

If government departments have, indeed, been hiring real langurs (via their handlers, of course), the responsible officials could face more than just the two week quarantine mandated by their having come into contact with someone infected with Covid-19. Charges under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code can lead to three years in jail or a fine, or both.

It could, however, just be a case of mistaken identity — simian, not human — as langur and handler may both be Homo sapiens, so as to not fall foul of that law. As long as the objective of scaring away monkeys is achieved, directly hiring men in monkey (langur) suits would certainly be more sensible, and just as effective too.

As the Centre forges ahead with its plan to redevelop government buildings along the Central Vista in New Delhi, it has presumably also factored in this monkey complement, given that they are probably as numerous as government staff in that precinct. Any neglect of this aspect could have the effect of throwing a monkey wrench into the works.

Viru’s A-Level Humour, Virat’s Style Statement, Women Team’s Big Win Stole The Show At BCCI Awards

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One of the most awaited nights in Indian cricket, the BCCI awards, took place in Mumbai on Sunday. The awards were meant to honour the best in cricket for the year 2018-19 in over 25 categories.

The who’s who of Indian cricket, from captain Virat Kohli, team coach Ravi Shastri to teammates Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma and others were in attendance. Honouring the cricketers with awards were the newly appointed BCCI Chief Sourav Ganguly and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah. Here are all the major highlights of the star-studded night.