Indian Police say `shoot at monkeyman' as panic spreads

By Lalit Kumar

The Times of India News Service

NOIDA: As the mysterious monkeyman's attacks spread from Ghaziabad to Noida leaving a trail of scared and injured residents, Meerut police zone DIG A.K. Jain called on people to shoot the miscreant if sighted.

``Every individual has the right to self-defence,'' Jain said on Sunday.

The DIG said police reservists and civil defence personnel in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar have been called out to help fight the nocturnal invader. District magistrates are being requested to make Prantiya Rakshak Dal volunteers available.

He said reports of ``this mischief have been received from Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Delhi's Seemapuri locality''. Since the miscreants attack only in the dark, Jain said the power corporation had been requested to stop load-shedding in the affected areas at night.

In the past few days, several men and women have been injured in Noida, Dadri town and Chhapraula. These include a doctor's son and the wife of another doctor. Most children stay home from school and there is widespread panic.

In Dadri, said police sources, one of the masked men was soundly beaten by locals. But he managed to escape. Meanwhile, in the panic and confusion several innocent persons have also been beaten by mobs.

About 1 am on Sunday, the masked intruder reportedly entered the house of a homeopath in Sector 22. He attacked Dr M P Singh's wife and sister, injuring them in the shoulder and ankle respectively.

Singh's wife Chandrawati said, ``He was dressed in white. Seemed to be covered in bandages like a mummy. Only the large, frightening eyes were visible.''

There seem to be varying rumours about these unwelcome guests. Some victims said a man painted all in silver, and about 4ft 6in tall, attacked them. Others described him as masked and dressed in black.

The attacks had started in Ghaziabad some days ago, with a monkey being accused of attacking peopleas they slept on terraces at night.

According to the police, ``Some of the injuries encountered were monkey bites. But later, some humans entered the monkey's role. Their intention is not rape, molestation or robbery. They are obviously out to create panic.''

In Dadri, the police said an Ayurvedic physician, A Kanungo's son and several others sustained injuries. A red Maruti van and a Honda motorcycle are being linked to the incident.

Masked man or monkey, it's a menace

By Parmindar Singh

The Times of India News Service

GHAZIABAD: Some say the assaults are by a monkey, others believe a masked man is responsible. But whatever it is, it has spread panic in Ghaziabad.

The unknown creature has scratched many people and left the authorities perplexed. There are cries of ``Kill him, kill him'' in many localities after dusk, since that is when the mysterious creature chooses to strike.

About a dozen victims have received deep scratches in the `attacks' said City SP R K Chaturvedi.

And on Sunday, residents of Kala Bhatta stoned cars presuming they had seen the `masked man' driving by. A woman is alleged to have fainted at the sight.

In early April, the creature was confined to Vijay Nagar when it started `biting' sleeping persons. It was then rumoured to be a rogue monkey. Later, victims said it was a man with a monkey face, which soon became a masked man.

On April 30 in the Kela Bhatta area, people fired in the air to scare it away. It was seen in Nasirpur, 3 km away during a power cut. He had scratched the hand of a shop-keeper.

On May 1 night, the creature was sighted in Anand Vihar. Hundreds of people with lathis and sticks searched in vain for hours.

In the Bulandshahr Road industrial area, three workers were woken up and attacked. The `masked man' had reportedly threatened to ``kill them''. His language and accent was Bhojpuri, they claimed.

According to DM Inderjit Verma nobody has seen the creature. It's all rumours, he said. And none of the victims has developed rabies which is a natural consequence of a monkey bite or scratch.

The SP said police patrolling and alertness had been increased in view of the panic caused by the alleged incidents.

Monkey man panic

EW DELHI, May 16 (Reuters) - "Monkey man" hysteria is sowing panic in India's capital, with media reporting that two terrified residents fell to their death on hearing that an ape-like attacker was nearby.

Police said on Wednesday that they were no closer to solving the mystery of an ape-like creature which residents accuse of clawing and biting dozens of people in New Delhi suburbs over the past fortnight.

"We have consulted doctors about the bites and they said they were by some animal," Joint Commissioner of Police Suresh Roy told Reuters.

"The information we have is pointing towards an animal. But we checked with the local zoo and they said no animal had escaped from there."

Media reports said that the collective hysteria claimed a second life early on Tuesday after a pregnant woman sleeping on her terrace was woken by neighbours shouting: "The monkey has come!". The woman fell down a staircase and died in hospital.

Two nights earlier, an industrial worker died in similar circumstances when he leapt in terror from a building at Noida, a southeastern suburb.

Roy said there had been no reports of injuries in the affected areas on Tuesday night.

But there had previously been dozens of calls about attacks -- many of them bogus -- from people who gave varying and sometimes bizarre descriptions of the now celebrated "monkey man".

Two indentikit portraits put together with the help of the creature's victims suggested it was human.

One showed a swarthy broad-faced bearded man with a flat nose, thick lips and a piercing stare. The other, which could hardly have been more different, portrayed a narrow-faced man with a receding hairline, a scrappy moustache and dark glasses.

The Indian Express quoted a resident of Noida as saying that a creature "as small as a cat" bit her fingers, and two of her husband's teeth were knocked out by a "metallic hand".

Two houses away, there was a different story.

"It was a monkey alright, and about four foot tall, but as soon as I grabbed it, it turned itself into a cat with tawny, glowing eyes," the newspaper quoted a resident as saying.

Monkeys run wild in New Delhi and on the outskirts of the city. Sometimes they pounce on unsuspecting pedestrians or enter houses.