MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - The deputy mayor of New Delhi died after falling from a first-floor terrace when fending off an attack by wild monkeys, Indian media reported.
S. S. Bajwa died in hospital on Sunday, a day after the attack, from head injuries sustained in the fall.
Rhesus macaque monkeys, who have been forced from their natural habitat by the expanding Indian capital and deforestation, have become a severe problem for residents of the city. The monkeys frequently overrun public places and attack passersby, but culling of the creatures is forbidden by Hindus, who consider them sacred.
In 2006, the country's Supreme Court launched a campaign to remove wild monkeys from the capital's streets, and take them to forests in Madhya Pradesh.
