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Tuesday, May 15 |
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Mysterious "man-monkey" strikes Delhi |
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Residents of the Indian capital, Delhi, are reported to be panicking after a series of attacks by mysterious creatures, described as "man-monkeys". |
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At least one person is said to have died and 35 others have been injured in attacks in recent days or while attempting to flee in panic. |
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Police in one Delhi suburb say they have ordered officers to "shoot on sight" to halt the ape-like menace. |
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Indian newspaper reports described the creature as "short, dark and hairy, with human legs and an ape-like face". |
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It apparently scratched and attacked people sleeping on the roofs of their homes, during the scorching summer months. |
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According to the Press Trust of India, Delhi police received 29 "distress calls" from the east and north-east parts of the capital on Monday night. |
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One person in the eastern district of Noida died when he jumped from the roof of his house in an attempt to save himself from attack. |
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In another district, a pregnant woman fell down a flight of steps in fright, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. |
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Police are now said to be preparing identification kits of the creatures which allegedly jump down from tall buildings and "sprint long distances in seconds". |
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"It is indeed intriguing how a human-being can jump down from multi-storey buildings and cover long distances within such a short space of time," joint commissioner of police, Suresh Roy, said. |
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Zoo officials have also been contacted to help the police investigate the attacks and patrols have been stepped up in areas where the "man-monkeys" are said to be operating. |
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Thursday, May 17 |
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Monkey mystery baffles Delhi |
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Police in the Indian capital Delhi are still on the trail of a mysterious creature which has allegedly attacked the city's residents. |
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The creature, which is described as part man, part monkey, has apparently struck in 65 locations and has led to the deaths of at least two people. |
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Police say they have been flooded with panic calls, not all of which are genuine. |
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"Altogether we received about 100 distress calls but only 16 attacks could be verified" |
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"Eighteen people have been injured since last night. We cannot yet say who, or what, is causing these attacks," he said. |
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The attacks have taken place at night, and have targeted people sleeping on the roofs of their houses to escape the summer heat. |
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But their job has been made harder with the wildly varying descriptions of the creature. It is said to be anything between a tiny man to a tall beast - some say with metal claws. |
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"When I grabbed it, it turned into a cat with glowing eyes," one resident, who claimed to have encountered the creature, said. |
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"It looks like a monkey and has green lights as eyes and springs on its feet. It has a huge metallic silver hand which glows in the dark," he said. |
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The event has made the front-pages of the capital's daily newspapers, which have even published police sketches of the mysterious creature. |
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But animal experts rejected the notion that the creature was a primate of any sort. |
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"I am 120% sure that they are humans," |
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"These are most definitely pranksters who are getting kicks our of their jokes and, in the process, giving monkeys a bad name," she said. |
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Delhi is home to the rhesus monkey which has become a menace in recent times, attacking bureaucrats in government ministries and tearing files and documents. |
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Friday, May 18 |
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Delhi vigilantes hunt "monkey-man" |
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Vigilante mobs have stepped up patrols in the Indian capital Delhi on the trail of a mysterious "monkey-man", whose fierce attacks have caused panic in the city. |
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Residents and groups of young men armed with clubs, sticks and knives are walking the streets, flouting police orders against vigilante groups. |
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An extremist Hindu organisation, Shiv Sena, believes the "monkey-man" is a sinister plot hatched by Pakistan and has deployed scores of activists armed with swords and tridents. |
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A television news report said that in one case a frenzied mob of around 150 people caught and beat a man in the east of the city, only to discover that he was an innocent bystander. |
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The attacker, which is described as part man, part monkey, has apparently struck in 65 locations and has led to the deaths of at least three people. |
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Police say they have been flooded with panic calls, not all of which are genuine. |
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The attacks have taken place at night, and have targeted people sleeping on the roofs of their houses to escape the summer heat. |
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The Delhi police have formed a special team to apprehend the shadowy attacker. |
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They also offered a reward of 50,000 rupees (that's around 1,063 US dollars) for information leading to the capture of the "monkey-man", which they now believe is not an animal. |
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"It's definitely not one person," Joint Commissioner of Police Suresh Roy said. |
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"Events seem to be happening at different places at the same time so it could be a number of mischief-makers who have formed a small gang." |
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Meanwhile, a team of Hindu priests said it would organise special prayers on Saturday to appease the elusive creature. |
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"To rid the people of Delhi from the menace of this mysterious monkey-man, we will hold a freedom-from-monkey-man prayer," the group said in a statement. |
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The Indian Rationalists Association has dismissed the "monkey-man" as a case of a mass self-delusion. |
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The association said the bites and scratches could be self-inflicted. |
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"It is a well-known phenomenon in psychiatry that people with a pathological desire for attention inflict themselves with wounds or strange marks on their body". |
