Can a monkey be booked for murder? Cops in a fix

Meerut, Oct 20: Can the police book a monkey for murder. The police are in a fix after the family of a person stoned to death by monkeys want an FIR registered against the animals.

A 72 year old man in Tikri village in Uttar Pradesh was stoned to death by a bunch of monkeys when he gone to collect wood. Dharmapal Singh was collecting dry wood, when the monkeys rained bricks on him from a treetop.

The man who was hit on the head and chest died at hospital later. The family then went to the police and lodged a formal complaint against the monkeys. The police who had registered the case as an accident are currently in a fix about what to do of the complaint filed by the family members.

The villagers of the area have been complaining about these monkeys who have made life difficult for them. They want the monkeys to pay and feel that this death case could pave the way to solve the problem.

The police however say that they cannot register an FIR against the monkeys. First and foremost there is no such provision to book an animal under the Indian Penal Code. If a case has to be registered for murder then it would be under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.