A 12-day-old baby died after a monkey snatched him from his breastfeeding mother and left him bruised and bitten on the terrace of a neighbour’s house in Mohalla Kachhera area northern state of Uttar Pradesh, in India.
According to The Indian Express, the monkey was said to have ran into the house and grabbed the baby by his neck while efforts to rescue the infant failed as family members later found the baby lying blood-soaked on a neighbour’s terrace.
The baby was rushed to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead, the family members said.
Not ready to believe it, the family took him to another hospital, but to no avail.
Eco-activist Shravan Kumar said monkeys are turning aggressive as their natural habitats have been destroyed and green cover is steadily shrinking.
Residents said the monkeys loot, snatch and attack people, particularly women and children in Agra.
“People do not dare to go to their terraces. Those who do have sealed their homes with iron mesh cages. You cannot leave your door open or sit in the sun,” a resident of Vijay Nagar colony Seema Gupta said.
The father of the boy said the monkey grabbed the boy by the neck and ran off before his breastfeeding mother, Neha, could act.
According to Agra Police Assistant Superintendent Abhishek, neighbours rushed to help after hearing the mother’s screams.
- NAN