Police catch up with monkey thief

After making good his escape while the Ahmedabad Express made a halt at Jharsuguda in Orissa,Saikia reportedly caught a truck back to Durg,Chhattisgarh,and got a hair cut to change his appearance. He was reportedly arrested by the local police from Kudeswar while trying to withdraw money from an ATM. A reinforced Kolkata police team then brought him back to the city.

According to an official of the criminal branch of the Chhattisgarh Police,Saikia,who has a breeding firm,is not a lone player. 8220;We have specific inputs that he is part of a wide racket involved in illegal trade of exotic animals. He has links in Mumbai and Pune. He is also involved in animal trafficking in the Northeast,8221; said the official.

Saikia had been living in a rented house in Kudeswar for the past eight months and working as a labourer in a local plastic-bag manufacturing company. Guwahati SP P C Saloi said they were examining if Saikia had any links with operators in Guwahati,where he has many relatives.

Investigators believe Saikia first got involved in the racket while working in a Mumbai shop dealing in exotic animals. He was arrested in 2007 by the Lonavala police on the charge of stealing seven Macaws and a couple of Victorian pigeons from a private bird park.