CHENNAI: A monkey snuck into a classroom at a private school in Madurantakam's Saravambakkam village and caused chaos as it attacked a 5-year-old boy on Monday.
B Drujul, a UKG student, was dropped off at the school by his father, Bakyaraj. Around 11.45 am, two monkeys entered the school campus, and one of them entered the UKG classroom, panicking the students. With children running amok in fear, the monkey caught on to Drujul and bit and scratched him on his hands and legs.
Teachers and school staff intervened and managed to chase the monkey away using sticks. Drujul was initially taken to a private hospital 6 km away and administered first aid. He was later referred to the Madurantakam Government Hospital for further treatment.
Meanwhile, school authorities informed the child's father over the phone about the incident and asked him to come to the school immediately.
Angered by the incident, Bakyaraj, his relatives and residents, rushed to the school and had a heated argument with the school management, questioning the lack of safety measures. They said that the school was operating without adequate security, allowing monkeys to enter classrooms and attack children.
They also questioned why the child was not taken to a nearby hospital immediately and why the parents were informed only after shifting the child between hospitals.
School authorities responded that their priority was to provide immediate medical treatment to the child, which led to the delay in informing the parents. They also claimed that the Forest department had been informed to capture the monkeys and prevent further incidents.
The Madurantakam police have also visited the spot and launched an Investigation.
Forest department officials said that they regularly capture monkeys from nearby villages and relocate them to the reserve forest areas. They added that the monkeys involved in this incident were believed to be from the Cheyyur forest region and that action would be taken by the concerned forest range.