JOIN USMayur Vihar resident bitten by monkey goes to police
A man severely bitten by a monkey in east Delhi has taken the legal route in his fight against the menace. Police said an FIR in this connection has been registered at Pandav Nagar police station and investigations initiated.
The 59-year-old victim Aravindakshan told Deccan Herald that he was bitten by a stray dog three months ago upon which he had approached the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) in his locality. “No result came off it. So this time I am taking the legal route in the interest of my locality,” said Aravindakshan.
Aravindakshan, a native of Kerala, was headed to his office last Wednesday morning when the attack happened at Pocket-C in Mayur Vihar.
“A fat monkey climbed my shoulders and bit me in my back. I was taken aback and threw him away, but he returned to bite me on my limbs,” said Aravindakshan, adding he suspected it was a mad monkey.
While several bystanders looked on terrified, a 52-year-old man Harish Chandra Dhaulakhandi emerged with an iron rod to chase the monkey away. He then called police who arrived soon and rushed the terrified victim, who rushed to a nearby house to seek shelter, to a hospital where he was treated and vaccinated.
Aravindakshan then decided to lodge a complaint and was accompanied to the police station by Dhaulakhandi. “The police were prompt and cooperative. They willingly registered a case (of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means),” said Aravindakshan who works as a personal secretary at a private firm.
But his saviour Dhaulakhandi, who claims to be a crusader against stray dog and monkey menace, is unhappy. “I wanted the FIR to contain names of officials from the MCD and the forest department who are responsible for controlling this menace. But police chose not to name anyone except unknown monkeys. How will they track down which monkey was responsible for the attack,” Dhaulakhandi told Deccan Herald.
Police said they are currently probing who or what caused the injuries to the victims. “If the role of any authorities emerges in the investigations, we will book them. We cannot name monkeys as accused in the FIR,” said the officer.
Locals in Mayur Vihar area said they live under constant threat from stray dogs or monkeys.
“There are about 6,000 families living in the six phases of Mayur Vihar. There would be a few families whose members have never been attacked by monkeys or dogs,” said Dhaulakhandi.
Having approached all possible authorities in this connection, Dhaulakhandi decided to take care of his own safety. He has devised an instrument using a pipe through which he fires crackers each time monkeys enter his home through the balcony or windows. “The instrument resembles a gun when lighting crackers in it. That scares away the monkey without hurting them,” he said.
Monkeys are his everyday guest, he claims. “Once I found a couple of them on my bed when I emerged from the bathroom. People in our area are used to monkeys stealing food from their refrigerators,” he said. “Mayur Vihar has been wrongly named. There are no Mayurs (peacocks) here. The area should be named Bandar Vihar,” he added.