The parents of a six-year-old child in India say a troop of monkeys saved their daughter from being seriously assaulted.
The girl escaped unharmed after an unknown person lured her into an abandoned house in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. the family said.
Police say officers have registered a case under child protection laws, though the assailant has not been identified and no arrests have yet been made.
The girl’s father told the Times of India that the man was captured on a surveillance camera leading the child into an abandoned house through the narrow lanes of the village. The man attempted to assault her when a troop of monkeys aggressively charged towards him, forcing him to leave, the family say.
The girl escaped from the house and later described to her family how the ‘monkeys saved her’, the newspaper reported.

‘My daughter was playing outside when the accused took her away,’ the father, who has not been named by police, said. ‘The man can be seen in nearby CCTV footage, walking in a narrow lane with my daughter. My daughter would have been dead by now if monkeys had not intervened.’
The girl told her parents that the man threatened to kill her father if she spoke to anyone about the incident.
Harish Bhadioria, a local police officer, said detectives are investigating the incident ‘involving monkeys‘.
Monkeys as a Menace
The animals live alongside people in many parts of India due to the loss of their natural habitat and urban expansion. As cities grow, natural habitats shrink, forcing monkeys into human-dominated areas where they search for food.

This leads to encounters that can result in property damage, injuries, and the spread of diseases. In some areas, monkeys are seen raiding homes, offices, and markets, causing tension between residents and wildlife.
Some species – particularly Rhesus Macaques and Bonnet Macaques– occasionally display aggressive behaviour towards humans when they feel threatened. These monkeys are highly adaptable and intelligent, which makes them well-suited to thriving in urban environments.
In Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, rhesus macaques have become notorious for snatching food, stealing belongings, and sometimes biting people. The situation became so problematic that in 2019, the government declared certain areas ‘monkey-free zones,’ relocating many of the animals and introducing sterilisation programs to control the population. Other efforts to manage these conflicts include relocation, and public awareness campaigns, but finding a sustainable solution remains challenging.