Odisha: Body of child snatched by monkey found in well

A monkey had reportedly snatched the 15-day-old baby around 6 am on Saturday when he was sleeping and fled to a nearby jungle.

Monkey menace, child killed by monkey, infant killed by monkey, Odisha, Indian express

Three teams of local forest department officials along with the family members and villagers had launched a search operation to trace the baby.

Body of an infant was found floating in a well at least 24 hours after he was allegedly snatched by a monkey in Cuttack’s Talabasta village, officials said.

A monkey had reportedly snatched the 15-day-old baby around 6 am on Saturday when he was sleeping and fled to a nearby jungle. Three teams of local forest department officials along with the family members and villagers had launched a search operation to trace the baby.

“The money took the baby from inside a mosquito net. It (the monkey) was spotted by Sarojini (the child’s mother), who immediately had raised an alarm, but the creature to jumped over the roof and disappeared from her view,” the child’s aunt Rajnandini Nayak told reporters.

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On Sunday morning, the body was pulled out of a neighbour’s well — around 50 feet deep — with a bucket, after it was spotted by the child’s aunt. Neighbours claimed they had checked the well on Saturday, but had found nothing. They said the well was usually covered.

The tragic death had cast a pall of gloom over the village. The child’s father, Rama Nayak, said that “the baby may have slipped from the monkey’s grip.”

Simian menace is a recurring problem in the area. Villagers said despite several complaints, the forest department had done little to help. Damapada Forest Ranger Sangram Mohanty said they were yet to trace the rogue monkey.

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