Chiyaan Vikram's reel with exotic monkey sparks probe, actor deletes video

Actor Chiyaan Vikram deleted an Instagram reel featuring him with an exotic monkey after reports of a forest department enquiry. The video has drawn scrutiny over the possession of the protected species by his daughter's father-in-law, CK Ranganathan.

In Short

• Actor Vikram shared and deleted a video with an exotic monkey
• Tamil Nadu Forest Department started enquiry on Vikram's son-in-law's father.
• Monkey identified as endangered Lar gibbon, protected by wildlife laws

Actor Chiyaan Vikram on Sunday shared an Instagram reel in which he could be seen cuddling and playing with an exotic monkey. However, the video was deleted 24 hours after reports emerged that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department had initiated an enquiry against his daughter's father-in-law into the possession of exotic species.

A report in the Free Press Journal said the video had landed Vikram's daughter's father-in-law, businessman CK Ranganathan, in trouble over his alleged links to the trade of exotic animals.

The monkey has been identified as a Lar gibbon, an endangered species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and India's Wildlife Protection Act. According to the report, Ranganathan had officially purchased the monkey, which was brought from Manipur to Erode in Tamil Nadu in June.

Wildlife activists, however, have raised concerns about the legality of keeping a Lar gibbon as a pet without the necessary documents. They have also alleged that the animal could have been trafficked from Southeast Asia. There has been no confirmation on these claims from the department yet, as an investigation is still underway.

Here's the now-deleted video:

The report further claimed that Chennai Wildlife Warden Yogen Kulala met Ranganathan at his home after Vikram deleted the video and informed him that an enquiry had been launched. He reportedly said that Ranganathan did not have the necessary clearance documents for possessing the Lar gibbon.

Actor Vikram is yet to respond to the controversy.

For the unaware, CK Ranganathan is the Founder-Chairman of CavinKare. He is also the father of Manu Ranjith, who is married to Vikram's daughter Akshita, making him the actor's son-in-law's father.

On the work front, Vikram was last seen in director SU Arun Kumar's Veera Dheera Sooran. He recently announced his upcoming films with directors Anand Shankar and Bodi Rajkumar. However, there has been no further update on the status of these untitled projects.

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