‘Army’ of monkeys attacks Bihar varsity office, police assure probe

Police personnel couldn’t help but smile when an official of the Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University (KSDSU) approached them with a demand that they lodge an FIR against monkeys that raised hell in their accounts section on Wednesday.

University staffers, however, insisted that the manner in which a veritable army of two dozen simians ransacked a section of the office around 10.30 that morning was no joking matter. The matter is now under investigation.

According to those familiar with the incident, the monkeys scrambled down a ladder from the terrace while the office was being cleaned at the start of the day. Even as the employees fled in utter panic, they proceeded to tear files and ledges kept on the tables. The office reportedly looked like a war zone by the time the attackers were through.

The vice-chancellor and the pro-vice-chancellor visited the scene soon after the incident and ordered that its premises be locked, so as to preserve “physical evidence” of the simian attack for a police investigation.

The monkeys, however, were far from done. Sources said that no sooner had KSDSU estate officer Awdhesh Choudhary set off with an application addressed to the local police that he was accosted by four simians on the office corridor. He raised the alarm when one of the animals allegedly caught his leg, bringing his colleagues to the rescue.

Choudhary could not be reached for comment.

KSDSU vice-chancellor Sarvanarayan Jha said some ledgers kept in the account section were damaged, but not seriously. “We could see groups of monkeys at a distance upon our visit to the spot,” the vice-chancellor said, denying any “conspiracy angle” to the incident.

The office was locked immediately to preserve the scene of the rampage, he added.

Meanwhile, KSDSU police station house officer Ajay Kumar Jha denied claims that they made light of the incident. “How could we lodge an FIR against monkeys? We have lodged a complaint and entered it into the police diary instead. We will investigate the matter,” he said.