In a bizarre turn of events that underscores the growing monkey menace in the Mathura-Vrindavan region, a diamond merchant from Aligarh lost—and later recovered—a handbag containing jewellery worth ₹20 lakh after it was snatched by a monkey outside the famous Banke Bihari temple.
The victim, Abhishek Agarwal, had just finished offering prayers with his family and was walking towards his parked car on Friday when a monkey from a troop roaming the area suddenly lunged at him and grabbed the bag from his hand. The bag reportedly contained high-value diamond ornaments.
Shocked and desperate, Agarwal initially tried local tactics, including offering food to lure the monkey, but to no avail. He then approached the local police for help.
Circle Officer (Sadar) Sandeep Singh confirmed that police teams launched a focused operation to recover the stolen bag. After identifying the monkey in question, they spent nearly eight hours tracking and surrounding it before finally retrieving the handbag, completely intact.
The incident highlights the persistent simian threat in the temple town, which sees thousands of devotees daily. Authorities have reiterated that they are implementing measures to address the problem, but the latest episode shows that the challenge is far from over.
(With inputs from agencies)
