Hassan (Karnataka), Jul 29 (IANS): In a shocking incident, 30 monkeys were found killed at a village in Hassan district of Karnataka in the early hours of Thursday. As many as 20 other monkeys were found to be injured. However, barring 2 monkeys, others have recovered and left after local residents tended to them.

The incident has been reported from the Chowdanahalli village of Belur taluk. Preliminary investigations suggest that the monkeys were poisoned and beaten up.

Miscreants had stuffed the monkeys in gunny bags and thrown them by the roadside near Chowdenahalli.

The incident came to light when the local youths, after finding the gunny bags lying on the roadside, opened them.

The youths were shocked to see the dead bodies of monkeys. They also found 20 monkeys injured. It was found that the monkeys were assaulted after being stuffed in gunny bags.

When the gunny bags were opened, some monkeys were found gasping for breath and unable to move.

The locals fed the monkeys with water and vented out their ire on the shocking incident. Among the 20 monkeys, 18 recovered after drinking water and left the place. The two are being treated by the veterinary doctors and said to be out of danger.

Assistant Conservator of Forests, Belur Forest Range Prabhu visited the spot. Range Forest Officer Yeshma Machamma and Forester D. Gururaj are investigating the matter.

It is suspected that miscreants had poisoned and beaten up the monkeys to death. They had brought monkeys from a different place, and when their plans to transport them to another location failed, they tried to kill all of them.

The forest officials said they will take necessary steps to bury the dead monkeys.

Post-mortem has been conducted on one of the dead monkeys and preliminary reports suggested poisoning.

The incident has shocked the public, and related news, videos have gone viral on the social media. The forest department is conducting an inquiry into the incident.