NEW DELHI: No fresh attack by the mysterious monkeyman was reported from the Capital during Tuesday night. However, the police were kept on their toes by over 25 calls of reported sightings from east and north-east Delhi.
For the first time, the police received calls informing of supposed sightings from other parts of Delhi as well. As many as 16 calls were made by scared residents of south, southwest, west and north Delhi.
But on all occasions the calls turned out to be more a result of panic and overwrought imaginations rather than an actual encounter.
Suspicious shadows, noises and even hearsay prompted many to summon the police. "No one saw the actual monkeyman. But there was no paucity of wild stories," said a senior police officer.
Police officials, who have been patrolling the narrow lanes of east and northeast Delhi for two nights, admit they have been able to make no sense of the supposed sightings.
"At many places, people called the police every time there was a power failure. Their warped logic being that once they reported a sighting, the police would be forced to restore power before starting their search operations," said a policeman.
On Wednesday an 18-year-old boy claimed to have been attacked at his Maujpur residence in northeast Delhi. He told the police he was attacked in the first floor verandah of his residence by a creature with "brown fur, resembling a monkey." He claimed that he hit it with a water bottle. The creature "flew out" of the verandah, hit the building across the road, and disappeared, he claimed.
The police took the boy to GTB Hospital as he had three minor cuts on his right hand. He was discharged after first aid.
"The only thing that we have been able to fathom is that a prankster, with a sick sense of humour, is behind the attacks. However, nine out of ten sighting are bogus. Apparently, everybody wants his moment of glory. These bogus sighting are making it impossible for us to get to the bottom of the matter," said a police officer.
A construction worker in Greater Noida and a rickshaw-puller in Noida claimed to have been attacked by the monkeyman on Wednesday.
According to sources, in Greater Noida a construction labourer, Kirath Ram, working at Ishan Institute of Management and Technology, was attacked by somebody he could not clearly see. Kirath said he saw someone "black and frightening." He received scratches on his arm.
NEW DELHI: Spreading terror in north east and east Delhi, the "mystery object" struck at about 50 places since Monday night injuring 16 people and mocking at intensive patrolling carried out by a clueless police.
Joint commissioner of police Suresh Roy said that 29 distress calls were received from northeast Delhi alone since Monday night of which 12 attacks were confirmed, while none were confirmed out of the 17 calls from east Delhi.
The "mystery object" struck at two places in Gokulpuri area early on Tuesday. In Ashok Nagar, a pregnant women fell down from the staircase apparently out of fear, he said.
The "object", which had spread terror in neighbouring Ghaziabad town of Uttar Pradesh over the last two months, has struck at over 65 places in Delhi so far since Saturday last.
As panic gripped the residents of trans-Yamuna area, police have started registering cases of trespassing, attacking and causing injury against the "object" in various police stations.
The short, dark and hairy "object" with human legs and an ape-like face, scratches people sleeping on their roof-tops, injuring them on their heads and hands and disappearing as soon as people try to catch it, said a baffled Roy, who personally patrolled the area on Monday night along with senior police officials.
"Doctors say the injuries have not been caused by humans and animals. They have described the blunt injuries caused, due to friction," said the joint commissioner.
"It is indeed intriguing how can a human-being jump down from multi-storey buildings and cover long distances within such a short span of time," said Roy, adding he suspected the involvement of more than one "object" in the attacks.
Local police officials said they were suspecting the presence of extra-terrestrial or remote-controlled robots in the area.
Meanwhile, Roy said the police is drawing up an elaborate strategy to nab the attacking "object". He denied reports that shoot-at-sight orders have been issued. (PTI)
