59-year-old woman, 12-day-old baby killed in separate monkey attacks in Uttar Pradesh's Agra

Agra: A 59-year-old woman died on the outskirts of Uttar Pradesh's Agra after she was attacked by a group of monkeys, police said Thursday.

Representational image. Reuters

The attack took place on Wednesday night when the victim, Bhooran Devi, stepped out of her house in Kagaraul village. According to the police, the attack left her bleeding profusely and she was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The incident comes just days after a 12-day-old infant died after a monkey snatched him from his mother's lap in Agra's Kachhara area. Ajay Kaushal, the officer in charge of the nearby police station, told Reuters the baby had been badly mauled. "The monkey bit the infant's head and only dropped him when people chased it with sticks and threw stones at it."

Pushpa Devi, the child's grandmother, told BBC the family was heartbroken, and would "never recover" from the loss. The victim's kin on Thursday demanded compensation from the district authorities. Agra has been plagued by the monkey menace for the past 10 years.

"There are too many monkeys in the area. We live in fear. We have told the administration so many times to help us but they haven't done anything. The mother of the baby is too distraught to even speak," the baby's uncle Dhirendra Kumar told BBC.

On Wednesday evening, local voluntary agencies organised a conference where a plan was formulated to control the monkey nuisance. Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan are worst affected by monkeys who frequently attack tourists and pilgrims.

With inputs from IANS