Bijnor (UP), Aug 30 (IANS): The Bijnor police have forced a young restaurant owner to leave his pet monkey in the forest area.

Mohd Nazim(24), had found an injured baby monkey on his rooftop 18 months ago and he nursed it back to health.

Nazim, who lives in Noorpur's Islam Nagar mohalla, claimed that he tried to leave the monkey in the forest several times, but every time, it returned.

Two days ago, someone made a video clip of the monkey at the restaurant, following which Bajrang Dal activists filed a police complaint alleging animal cruelty.

Soon, the police arrived and directed him to release the monkey in a faraway forest.

Nazim told TOI on Tuesday, “There was an emotional bond with my pet. When my friend refused to eat bread, I gave him fruits daily. I had also dressed it like a child.”

SHO of Noorpur, Sanjay Tomar, said, “A man complained against Nazim and alleged he was misbehaving with a monkey. We inquired about it and talked to Nazim. In the meantime, he has left the monkey in Paijaniya forest.”

In a similar incident in March, Mohd Arif of Amethi developed a bond with a Sarus crane but was forced to hand it over to officials after people objected to a popular video showing the bird accompanying Arif.