Monkey injures several people during rampage

updated 8:39 a.m. ET Nov. 12, 2007

NEW DELHI - A wild monkey went on a rampage in a low-income neighborhood in the Indian capital, injuring several people, most of them children, police said Monday.

Police sub-inspector Gaje Singh told The Associated Press that the attacks started late Saturday in the Shastri Park area of New Delhi, adding that it was not immediately possible to give an exact tally of the injured. Local news reports said as many as 25 people were injured.

Singh said officers were patrolling the neighborhood in search of the rogue animal.

"But the monkey hasn't been spotted yet," Singh said.

People in Shastri Park often sleep outside their homes or on open roofs to escape the heat.

Neighborhood resident Naseema, who goes by one name, carried her 1-year-old daughter into her house in attempts to escape the animal. "The monkey followed me in and buried its teeth in my baby's leg," she told the Times of India newspaper.

As New Delhi's forest cover shrinks, rhesus macaque monkeys have overrun its government buildings, temples and residential areas, occasionally biting passers-by or snatching food from them. A government official died last month when he fell from his balcony during an attack by wild monkeys.

Part of the problem is that devout Hindus believe monkeys are manifestations of the god Hanuman and feed them bananas and peanuts, encouraging them to frequent public places.

Last year, the Delhi High Court reprimanded city authorities for not doing enough to stop the animals from terrifying residents.

City authorities have experimented with using langurs — a larger and fiercer kind of monkey — to scare or catch the macaques, but the problem persists.

More from msnbc.com Power struggle threatens Pakistan’s leader  Swine flu booster shots? Good luck with that From Levi to Letterman: Palin's rough year Obama gets mixed reviews on China's blogs Ice addict heads for poles, Everest | Trek posts On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM WEIRD NEWS

Weird news Section Front

Trapped thief drops pants in bungled burglary Drillers seek Scotch lost in Antarctica in 1909 Police: Body parts sold to kebab stand Overdue books returned — 51 years later Urn with veteran’s ashes stolen Venezuela's Chavez: Do sit-ups, eat well Key ingredient in new ‘love dessert’? Viagra Strippers-on-a-truck promotion halted in Vegas Texan drives $1 million car into marshes Did she fake breast cancer to get implants? Weird news Section Front   Add Weird news headlines to your news reader: