Pictu e
C edit:
X
A
video
of
acto
Vik am
with
a
mo key
ece tly
we t
vi al
o
social
media,
quickly
s owballi g
i to
a
full-blow
wildlife
co t ove sy.
The
a imal
i
questio
tu ed
out
to
be
a
La
Gibbo ,
a
a e
species
i dige ous
to
Southeast
Asia,
p ompti g
questio s
about
how
it
e ded
up
i
I dia
a d
whethe
the
ecessa y
pe missio s
we e
i
place.
The
Fo est
Depa tme t
stepped
i
to
i vestigate
soo
afte
Vik am
took
dow
the
video
f om
his
I stag am
page.
How
did
Vik am
get
li ked
to
the
co t ove sy?
Acco di g
to
the
Fo est
Depa tme t,
the
video
was
actually
shot
at
the
eside ce
of
M.K.
Muthu,
the
elde
so
of
fo me
Tamil
Nadu
Chief
Mi iste
M.
Ka u a idhi.
Vik am
had
epo tedly
visited
the
house
as
his
daughte
is
ma ied
i to
Muthu’s
family.
Du i g
this
visit,
the
acto
i te acted
with
the
mo key
a d
eco ded
the
video
that
late
we t
vi al.Officials
also
fou d
that
the
a imal
had
bee
b ought
to
the
eside ce
fo
sale.
As
pa t
of
the
i qui y,
Fo est
Depa tme t
officials
questio ed
Vik am
eve
as
he
was
busy
with
a
film
shoot.
Impo ta tly,
the
depa tme t
has
cla ified
that
Vik am
has
o
co ectio
with
the
pu chase
o
sale
of
the
mo key,
effectively
clea i g
the
acto ‘s
ame
i
the
matte .
The
eal
ow e :
A
case
ove
egist atio
violatio s
The
i vestigatio
eve tually
t aced
the
a imal
to
Kesava atha ,
a
eside t
of
Pe u du ai
i
E ode
dist ict.
The
Fo est
Depa tme t
issued
him
a
otice
a d
questio ed
him
exte sively
about
the
La
Gibbo .Du i g
the
i qui y,
officials
fou d
that
Kesava atha
had
pu chased
the
mo key
f om
Ma ipu
o
Ju e
1,
a d
that
he
had
also
bought
two
othe
mo keys
of
the
same
species.
Howeve ,
o e
of
these
a imals
we e
egiste ed
with
the
Fo est
Depa tme t
withi
the
ma dated
timef ame,
a
clea
violatio
of
wildlife
p otectio
o ms.
A
case
has
ow
bee
egiste ed
agai st
him
fo
these
lapses.Addi g
to
his
t oubles,
officials
also
discove ed
that
o e
of
the
th ee
mo keys
had
died,
a d
that
the
death
had
ot
bee
epo ted
to
the
depa tme t
as
equi ed.
This
has
led
to
a
seco d
case
bei g
filed
agai st
him.
Whe e
does
the
co t ove sy
sta d
ow?
With
the
Fo est
Depa tme t’s
cla ificatio ,
the
focus
of
the
case
has
fi mly
shifted
away
f om
Vik am
a d
o to
questio s
of
ow e ship
a d
legal
egist atio
of
the
p otected
species.
The
acto ‘s
o -i volveme t
i
the
pu chase
o
sale
of
the
a imal
has
bee
officially
established,
effectively
putti g
the
co t ove sy
to
est
as
fa
as
he
is
co ce ed.
Vik am
o
the
ca ee
f o t
Vik am,
mea while,
emai s
focused
o
his
acti g
commitme ts
a d
upcomi g
p ojects.
K ow
fo
taki g
o
challe gi g
oles
ac oss
va ied
ge es,
the
acto
has
seve al
films
li ed
up.
Fo
ow,
the
mo key
video
co t ove sy
appea s
to
have
bee
esolved,
with
the
o goi g
i vestigatio
ce t ed
e ti ely
o
the
a imal’s
ow e ship
a d
egist atio
violatio s.