Odisha police personnel cremate monkey as per Hindu rituals, say the animal was "very dear to us"

A monkey was cremated by police personnel in Odisha’s Jajpur district in accordance with Hindu rituals. The personnel decided to cremate the monkey themselves because of the close bond they had formed with the animal. The monkey, who was old and ailing, used to live on a tree in the compound of the Balichandrapur police station. When it was found dead by the police personnel, they decided to cremate the body instead of handing it to the Forest Department. Bijayini Mallha, the inspector-in-charge of the police station said that the monkey “was very familiar with all of our staff as it used to roam around and we used to give it food”. He added that the monkey " was very dear to us" and had become like a family member, leaving the station deeply shocked over its demise. Therefore, the station decided to perform the last rites of the creature. The personnel paid their respects and garlanded the dead monkey. They formed a procession and carried the monkey to the cremation grounds, where all the last rites were performed as per the Hindu tradition. This is not the first time an animal has received so much love after its demise. The bond between human beings and animals can be so strong that people often regard the animal as an indispensable part of their lives. The loss of a pet or an animal one has bonded with, can feel no less than the loss of a loved one. Another example of such bonding happened in May this year. A dog owner carried out a funeral procession for his pet in Bihar’s Samastipur region. The entire village united to pay their respects to the dog, who was carried to the Baya river for the last rites. With the Hindi song Teri Meherbaniyaan dedicated to it, the dog was buried on the riverbank.