Prowling 'monkey-man' causes panic in Delhi

Whether he is man or beast, captured or at large, nobody seems to know. But suburbs of Delhi, the Indian capital, have been thrown into panic over the nightly prowlings of a mysterious "monkey-man".

Dozens of residents have reported attacks by an ape-like creature able to leap from roof to roof. Some say the assaults are by a monkey, others by a masked man.

Police said that since Sunday they had received about 65 reports of the hybrid creature scratching and biting victims.

Delhi has monkeys running wild, which sometimes pounce on pedestrians or enter houses and bite people sleeping.

People in Ghaziabad town, which reported the first attack two weeks ago, spent the night on the streets armed with sticks waiting for the attacker, the Star News TV network reported.

The Times of India said a man died on Sunday in nearby Noida when he leapt off a first-floor building after waking to cries that the "monkey-man" was attacking.

In other areas, people said the beast had "threatened to kill them" in the Bhojpuri language and accent.

In Kala Bhatta, people reportedly stoned cars after seeing a masked man drive by.

Manoj Lal, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi's eastern district, said all 3,000 police had been patrolling since Monday to hunt down the creature.

- INDEPENDENT