will attack him again.
Wearing a fresh bandage on his left arm, he hides behind his mother every time the word “monkey” is mentioned to him.
Raja is one of the recent victims of the monkey menace reported from the Paharganj area. “I was near my house when the monkey attacked me without provocation. It bit my arm and left only after others came to my rescue. I am scared to even move out on the road as it can attack me from anywhere.”
The other residents of Paharganj area, adjacent to ‘J’ Block of Janakpuri, have had similar tales to narrate in the past two weeks.
They say that despite 20 children having been attacked in the area in the past 15 days, the Forest department woke up to the menace only three days ago after two infant deaths were reported from the area in the past one week, also due to reported monkey attacks.
“We made attempts to contact the Forest department earlier but it was of no use as nobody came forward for help. It was only three days ago that a Forest department team was sent here, but they have been unable to trap the monkey,” said Neera Bhatt, a resident of the area.
It was just three days ago that the 15-day-old son of one Reema was seriously injured by a monkey after she had left him alone at home.
Shatrughan Singh, an Aliganj forester who is part of the rescue team, said: “When she came back, she found the monkey had bitten and scratched the child on its face, stomach and legs. Even as the child was taken to the hospital, he succumbed to injuries,” said Singh.
The same monkey is believed to have attacked a three-day-old infant who too succumbed to his injuries.
“The monkey had attacked six-year-old Kajal, who was playing on the road. When we scared it off, it ran into the house and dragged the infant out of the bed to the staircase area. Usha, the child’s mother who was sleeping with him, cried for help. By the time we reached, the monkey had fled. Despite treatment, the infant succumbed to its injuries” said Sakeena Bano, a neighbour of Usha.
Pointing out that the monkey has shown abnormal traits, Singh added: “The monkey has shown a tendency to attack children and not adults. It sits next to adults, but does not harm them.”
“Also, unlike other monkeys who move around in the troop, this monkey is often seen with a langur, a species of which monkeys are usually scared of,” said Singh.
The residents, meanwhile, have lodged a complaint with District Magistrate Amit Kumar Ghosh.
“I instructed the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Lucknow, to initiate action in the matter,” said Ghosh.
On the reported inaction on part of the Forest department, a senior official with the department said: “I informed the senior officers of the department nearly 15 days ago, but they did not take notice.”
“After the two infant deaths were reported recently, they sent a team in search of the monkey, but returned without much success,” added the official.
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