Man injured in monkey attack in Shimla

"Sanjeev Kumar, 20, got serious injuries when a fully-grown monkey attacked him without any provocation," a wildlife official said.

Saved by the passers-by, who scared away the monkey, Sanjeev Kumar was admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital with multiple injuries, mainly on the face.

The town has a long problem with the monkeys snatching food and scaring people.

Instances of monkeys taking away spectacles and virtually forcing people into giving them foodstuff are not uncommon in the Jakhu temple.

Even in villages across the state, the monkey menace is quite acute as they mainly target the cereal and fruit crops, causing extensive damage.

The government in November last year allowed the farmers to shoot marauding monkeys. This angered animal right activists and they moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court which Jan 6 put on hold the government's decision.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice V.K. Ahuja directed the authorities to stop issuing monkey-killing permits, and asked the  government to look for other options like use of crackers, use of rubber bullets and air-guns and sterilisation to deal with the monkeys.