<p>"Sanjeev Kumar, 20, got serious injuries when a fully-grown monkey attacked him without any provocation," a wildlife official said.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The town has a long problem with the monkeys snatching food and scaring people.<br /><br />Instances of monkeys taking away spectacles and virtually forcing people into giving them foodstuff are not uncommon in the Jakhu temple.<br /><br />Even in villages across the state, the monkey menace is quite acute as they mainly target the cereal and fruit crops, causing extensive damage.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</p>
<p>"Sanjeev Kumar, 20, got serious injuries when a fully-grown monkey attacked him without any provocation," a wildlife official said.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The town has a long problem with the monkeys snatching food and scaring people.<br /><br />Instances of monkeys taking away spectacles and virtually forcing people into giving them foodstuff are not uncommon in the Jakhu temple.<br /><br />Even in villages across the state, the monkey menace is quite acute as they mainly target the cereal and fruit crops, causing extensive damage.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</p>