Surinder Singh Bajwa, a deputy mayor in New Delhi, India was rushed to hospital with devastating head injuries after trying to fight the marauding horde off during the attack
A politician suffered a horrifying death after being attacked by a marauding troop of monkeys at his home.
Surinder Singh Bajwa, a deputy mayor in New Delhi, India, was on the first-floor terrace of his house when a group of rhesus macaques swarmed the balcony. Neighbours say he tried to scare them off, but lost his balance in the chaos and fell. He was rushed to Apollo Hospital in critical condition with devastating head injuries and pronounced dead the following day.
Delhi is home to thousands of rhesus macaques, who frequently swarm homes, temples and rooftops — placing residents at constant risk. In the wake of his death in 2007, calls surged for action. Pressure mounted on city planners to address the monkey menace once and for all – with suggestions ranging from relocation programs to stronger wildlife control measures.
Paying tribute, government minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said: “Bajwaji was one of the most honest, sincere and dedicated workers of the party who worked selflessly with utmost honesty for the party, society and the nation and particularly for the uplifting of the poor and downtrodden.
“His untimely demise and in an unfortunate manner has given an irreparable loss to Delhi…he will be missed a lot.” Describing the monkey scourge, Perminder Kaur, from a west Delhi neighbourhood near the deputy mayor’s house, told the Irish Times: “Bands of monkeys routinely lay siege to our house, forcing us to keep the doors locked and to remain vigilant at all times.”
The politician’s house was located close a temple dedicated to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god. Hundreds of rhesus macaques gathered by it daily to be fed by hundreds of tourists and devotees.
Prior to his death, local government workers hired a fearsome monkey called Rambo for several months to protect its health and urban development ministries. He got into scuffles with various troops of monkeys and was eventually seen off after they repeatedly ganged up on him.
In the following years, Delhi’s courts were forced to reckon with how to manage the growing macaque population — with some advocating humane capture and others demanding tougher measures. Following Bajwa’s death, Delhi mayor Arti Mehra told The Hindu Times: “Since May this year we have managed to capture 1,250 monkeys, of whom over 450 were caught in the last 20 days.
“We are also planning to advertise in newspapers in Tamil Nadu and Assam as we’ve had good experience with monkey-catchers from these states. There are plans to increase the monkey-catching teams to 12 from the existing two. The rate for capturing the animals has also been increased.”
