The #1 source for news about monkeys and apes

[Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>]

Here are several followup stories:


May 15, 2001, Tuesday
HEADLINE: Shoot on sight orders for "man-monkeys" causing panic in Delhi
suburb
DATELINE: New Dehli

Indian police have been ordered to shoot on sight men masquerading as
monkeys after reports of attacks in Ghaziabad, an industrial suburb of the
capital New Delhi, police sources said Tuesday.

At least one person has died and 35 others injured in attacks or
panic-stricken attempts to escape their marauders, police and media reports
said.

"Shoot at sight orders have been issued to stop these monkey creatures,"
said a police spokesman of Ghaziabad, a sprawling township of around
150,000 located 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of the Indian capital.

"We suspect there are at least two people behind these attacks," he added.

Residents of Ghaziabad and adjoining areas had reported being mauled or
badly scratched by the "man-monkeys" in a string of attacks over the past
few days.

[...]


One person had died and 19 others were injured after attacks by the
"man-monkeys," a police spokesman said.

The police were also baffled by reports the "man-monkeys" could jump down
from multi-storey buildings and sprint long distances in seconds, media
reports said.

One witness, Ganesh Jha, of a local residents' association, said on
Saturday (May 12) he had come face to face with a "huge man-monkey" and saw
him jump 20 feet (six metres) into the air.

So far the "man-monkeys" have been successful in evading a dragnet put in
place by the Ghaziabad police.

However no case of robbery or sexual assault has been reported, police
sources said.


- - - - - - -

Agence France Presse
May 16, 2001
HEADLINE: Animals not "man-monkeys" terrorising New Delhi residents: police


New Delhi police said Wednesday animals could be behind a series of
mysterious attacks which have left two dead and caused panic among
residents.

The attacks -- in which the victims have been mauled or badly scratched --
have been blamed so far on men masquerading as monkeys.

Two people -- a man and a pregnant woman -- have died and at least 35
others injured in attacks on residents or panic-stricken attempts to escape
their marauders, police and media reports said.

A senior New Delhi police official said Wednesday the evidence so far
suggested the attacks could be caused by animals.

"We have not reached any conclusion," Suresh Roy, joint commissioner of
police in charge of the eastern part of the Indian capital, told AFP.

"But the opinion of the doctors is that the injuries sustained by the
victims appear to be caused by something which is apparently animal like,
monkey like."

[...]

Descriptions given by people varied from a man dressed like a monkey about
four feet (1.2 metres) tall with "tawny eyes and large claws," to a "black
coloured monkey about five feet (1.5 metres) in height," according to a
report in the Indian Express.

The description by Hemwati Sharma, a resident of eastern New Delhi to the
newspaper said, the marauder was over seven feet (2.1 metres) in height
with "green lights for eyes and springs on its feet."

Despite the fantastic descriptions, the police were taking the complaints
seriously and doubling efforts to apprehend the mischief-makers,
commissioner Suresh Roy said.

"The fact is that somebody has struck these people," Roy said.

The New Delhi police received about 25 calls Tuesday night, "all of which
turned out to be hoax," the official added.


- - - - - - - - -

AP Worldstream
May 16, 2001
HEADLINE: Another killed, more injured following panic over 'monkey man'
attacks


Police ran short of vehicles to chase dozens of reported sightings of a
superpowered ''monkey man'' as panicked residents spilled out of their
homes in fear.

A pregnant woman died late Tuesday night while trying to escape as
neighbors screamed that the monkey man was coming.

[...]

Police have blamed the panic on uneducated poor people, many of them
superstitious and strong believers in the supernatural. Their fears may be
exacerbated by sweltering heat and darkness due to electricity cuts.

But police also took the time to tell the public they have been
unsuccessful at trying to nab the elusive attacker who allegedly has been
sighted in more than 50 locations in New Delhi during a single night.

The six months pregnant woman sleeping on her rooftop terrace slipped down
the stairs when neighbors screamed from nearby rooftops that the monkey man
had struck, the Statesman newspaper reported. She was rushed to a hospital
where she died a few hours later.

One man was killed late Monday when he jumped off the roof of his house
during a purported attack, screaming, ''The monkey has come!''

Many people who called the police claiming to have been attacked by the
monkey man have scratches on their bodies, the Times of India reported.
However, veterinarians who examined the marks said they weren't caused by
any animal, the newspaper said.

''It seems a group of people in masks are terrorizing people,'' the
Statesman quoted an unidentified police officer as saying.

However, the harassed police force in New Delhi stepped up patrolling and
faced a shortage of vehicles. It also urged the state-run power company to
ensure uninterrupted power supply from dawn to dusk so that panicked
residents would feel safer with the lights on. The power-starved capital
routinely has power cuts during the sweltering summer.

''It is nothing but mass hysteria. We have increased patrolling in areas
which have reported such cases,'' said Manoj Kumar Lal, deputy commissioner
of police in east Delhi.

The public's fear of the monkey man is so great that residents of Noida, a
New Delhi suburb, caught and beat up a 4-foot-tall wandering Hindu mystic,
mistaking him for the simian terror, the Statesman said. The mystic,
identified only as Jamir, was found by a crowd of people in a nearby forest
performing some rituals, beaten up and handed to the police.

Thousands of people crowded outside the police station for a glimpse of the
alleged monkey man, causing a near stampede. Police said they had a
difficult time sending away the people even after they had established the
man was innocent.