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'Monkey man' scare grips Patna 

AFP [ SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2002  8:00:37 PM ]

PATNA: Almost a year after residents in Delhi were terrorised by the
alleged attacks of an elusive monkey-like creature, Patna says it, too, is
facing similar attacks from an ape-like animal.

Local newspapers here are full of reports of "mysterious monkey attacks",
but police have scotched the stories and warned of strict action against
those spreading rumours. 

"There are rumours of a monkey-like machine, referred to as monkey-man
that attacks those sleeping on rooftops and in open places at night," O N
Bhaskar, Patna's police chief said.

"But it is pure rumour as no one has actually lodged a case in any police
station. There has not been any recognised case of injury. We have warned
the public at large to be on guard against any rumour and help cops arrest
those who spread such rumours," he said.

Residents of Patna, however, were not reassured, with local newspapers
headlining quotes from eyewitnesses and victims of the "monkey man."

"The monkey-man attacked and injured my son-in-law Joginder Singh on
Friday night when he was sleeping on the rooftop of my house," a newspaper
quoted Bhagwat Sharan Singh of Patna's Mainpura colony as saying. "He (the
attacker) looked like a monkey."

Some even alleged the creature "jumps and sparkles red and blue lights."

Others described it as resembling a machine, operated by a remote control
and "handled by anti-social elements to terrorise people." 

Police chief Bhaskar said that hospitals and doctors had been asked to
report any case of injury attributed to the mysterious creature.
Meanwhile, fear of the "monkey man" took an ugly turn when a group of
people beat up a sadhu with a flowing beard, on suspicion that he was the
creature.

The incidents reported in Patna seemed almost identical to the attacks
reported in Delhi last May, when for more than a month, a "mysterious
monkey-like creature" besieged New Delhi. 

Descriptions agreed the creature was "black" and "ape-like" with "sharp
claws," but varied on its height, with some reporting it was over six feet
tall with red eyes, while others said it was about two feet tall.

At least two people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in a crush
when hysterical people tried to escape into their homes after hearing the
monkey man was near.

A number of others were treated for scratch and bite wounds in hospital,
but a special police enquiry dismissed the "monkey-man scare" as a figment
of imagination and a product of mass hysteria. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?artid=16683429&sType=1


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