Delhi's deputy mayor SS Bajwa died yesterday as a result of "serious head injuries" after falling from his first-floor terrace while attempting to fight off a pack of wild monkeys, the BBC reports.

The unfortunate incident on Saturday highlights Delhi's ongoing battle against the monkey hordes which "invade government complexes and temples, snatch food, and scare passers-by", but which are considered sacred by devout Hindus who see them as a "manifestation of the monkey god Hanuman".

While culling them is therefore off the agenda, India's High Court last year ordered Delhi to address the problem. The city has tried training teams of "larger, more ferocious" langur monkeys to have a pop at smaller, bothersome Rhesus macaques, and also employs monkey catchers to corral the animals for relocation to forests.

However, as the BBC notes, Delhi's expanding urban sprawl is destroying the monkeys' natural habitat, exacerbating the problem. ®