A four-month-old baby boy was allegedly wrenched from the arms of his parents and tossed to his death by a raging troop of monkeys last week in India, according to the Daily Mail.
The tragic incident occurred in the rural village of Dunka, located close to Bareilly in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Nirdesh Upadhyay was standing on the terrace of his three-story house with his wife and their young son.
The family of three was enjoying a lazy Friday evening up on the terrace of their home when several monkeys suddenly clambered onto the roof and surrounded them. After futile efforts to bat the primates away, the new parents ran toward the stairs in an attempt to escape from the monkeys. Nirdesh, who was carrying his son, stumbled and dropped the baby.
Monkey grabs infant and tosses him off the roof
In a split second, before either mom or dad could react, one of the monkeys grabbed the kid by his hand and hurled him off the roof, much to the parents' shock. The distraught parents managed to get back inside their house and went downstairs as fast as possible to save their son, but the baby reportedly died at the scene.
Authorities at the Shahi police station are now investigating the incident. Bareilly City's conservation chief, Lalit Verma, told PTI News that his team was dispatched to investigate the involvement of monkeys in the infant's death.
The state of Uttar Pradesh is home to a huge population of rhesus monkeys, which roam freely throughout many of its cities and towns. Although the monkeys generally live in relative harmony alongside the humans who reside in these areas, there are several documented cases of the primates attacking people, particularly kids.
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A five-year-old girl grabbed the headlines in February when she was killed by a troop of monkeys in the village of Bichpuri, located in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. According to the Times of India, Narmada Kishore was playing with her friends near Nakatiya River when the monkeys set upon her and began biting her all over her body.
Narmada's father, Nand, told the newspaper that the monkeys were quite aggressive and had bitten his daughter almost everywhere. He added that when he reached the spot, she was crying for help. The young girl was rushed to the community health center but died from major blood loss.
There are even incidents of monkeys hijacking vehicles from unsuspecting motorists in Bareilly, including one report of a primate stealing and crashing a bus. One monkey managed to start the bus's engine back in 2015 as it sat in a garage in the city while the driver was taking a nap.
The monkey turned the ignition key and reportedly smashed the bus into two other vehicles parked in the garage before the driver regained control.
