Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 5

In a freak accident, a 17-year-old lost his life after he was hit by a brick thrown by a monkey from the top of a building in Sector 22.

The victim, Harry, who used to work in a garment store in Sector 22, was standing outside the shop on March 31 when he was hit by a brick reportedly thrown by a monkey. Harry was rushed to the PGI by the shop owner and his staff, where he succumbed to his injuries on April 4.

Paramjit Singh, a relative of the victim, said the brick was kept on the cover of a water tank. “The monkey removed it and threw it down, which unfortunately hit Harry,” he said.

Paramjit Singh blamed the UT authorities for failing to control the monkey menace in the city. “Troops of monkeys have been scaring residents in Sector 22 with their terrorising antics,” he said.

Harry is survived by his parents and an elder brother, Happy, who also works at a shop in the Shastri Market. “With the death of Harry, the entire family is dependent on Happy now,” said his uncle Babu..

Inspector Uday Pal, SHO of the Sector 17 police station, said the postmortem of the victim was conducted after which his body was handed over to the family. “A head injury was the cause of the death,” the SHO said.

A daily diary report (DDR) has been lodged regarding the incident at the Sector 17 police station.

The ever-growing number of stray animals, including dogs, cattle and monkeys, in the past few years is posing a threat to city residents.

Fear had gripped Mani Majra residents around 10 days ago when 13 persons, including seven children, were bitten by a stray dog at Pipliwala town. As per the census conducted by the UT Animal Husbandry Department in 2013, the population of stray dogs rose to 7,847 which was 5,713 in 2007.

Similarly, three people have lost their lives in the past three years due to the stray cattle menace. All victims died after their two-wheeler rammed into stray cattle in the middle of the road.

This time the monkey menace has claimed the life of a Sector 22 resident.