New Delhi - A monkey went on a rampage in Indian capital of New Delhi, injuring more than two dozen people, many of them women and children, police said Tuesday. Police inspector Kalu Khan said that as many as 25 people were either bitten or otherwise injured in the attacks in eastern Delhi's low-income neighbourhood of Shastri Park from Saturday evening till Monday.
One of the victims was critically injured and was battling for life in a state-run hospital.
The attacks came weeks after Delhi's deputy mayor, SS Bajwa, died after he suffered severe head injuries while trying to escape from a group of aggressive monkeys.
But much to the relief of the residents, the monkey was caught by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) later on Tuesday. MCD teams aided by the police made rounds of the area to catch the rogue simian since Monday.
"The monkey was a real terror in the area as it had forced many of the area's inhabitants to stay indoors for the past few days. It would be released in a wildlife park near Delhi later today," said an MCD official who requested anonymity.
The man-monkey conflict has been a long-standing problem in the Indian capital, with the civic authorities failing to control the simians.
The monkey population has grown as they move into the city to try and survive from foraging, because development of suburbs is destroying their natural habitat.
Monkeys can be seen moving freely in some residential localities and are a common sight near the main government complex in central Delhi.
The simians are treated as descendents of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman and are often fed by devotees at Hindu temples.
Delhi's high court has delivered several strictures to the civic authorities asking them to curb the "monkey menace," but catching and relocating the animals have proved difficult.
There are very few forests left around Delhi's expanding urban perimeter and neighbouring states have been reluctant to accept the animals.
