The pair were arrested after one victim complained to officers (Representational)
Two men who roamed the streets of Delhi using monkeys to rob unsuspecting victims have been arrested, police said on Saturday. The pair were arrested after one victim complained to officers that three men carrying monkeys had surrounded and robbed him of Rs 6,000, a local police official told AFP.
The authorities 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 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 on Thursday at a bus stop.
The third thief is still at large while the monkeys have been sent to an animal rescue centre.