Catch me if you can

Lucknow, July 16: As far as FIRs go, this one was quite a spectacle. And, it was all over an expensive pair of spectacles.

Police in Varanasi, where many arrive in search of Nirvana or salvation, have had to scour the temple town’s crammed alleys and terraces for an unusual culprit — a monkey who scampered away with a pair of sunglasses.

The South Korean tourist who lost the prized possession has lodged an FIR, saying he needs it reclaim the money from his insurer. The glasses are worth Rs 7,000.

For the police, this was no monkey business. Kim Dang Hoon wasn’t stopping at the FIR. He insisted that the criminal be tracked down and his coveted accessory recovered.

Hoon’s week-long trip was smooth, though cases of cheating, fake miracles and duping are not rare with tourists.

He wasn’t even out on the streets when misfortune struck. “I had opened my window last morning to get fresh air and to take in the view of the Ganga. The scene was soothing. Suddenly, I saw a monkey sneak into my room. He headed straight to the table where my sunglasses were kept and took it away,” Hoon has said in the FIR, lodged at the Dasashamedh police station.

The South Korean didn’t give up easily. He asked attendants of the riverside guesthouse he was staying in to do something, but was told that they could do little. “I was completely outsmarted. I drew the attention of employees of the guesthouse. But they were of little help,” Hoon said.

Hoon then walked up to the terrace and tried to entice the monkey with some food. But the animal did not bite the bait. “I offered him food but he refused. He was dangling my glasses from his fingers,” he said.

About an hour later, a guesthouse employee brought the broken frame, saying it had been found on the terrace. But that was hardly consolation for Hoon, who went to the police station and insisted the officials register the FIR.

He requested officers to find the glasses, saying it could be fitted in a new frame. A search was launched, but after hours of a futile hunt, it was called off.

Like many other cases, the police knew who the offenders were but couldn’t take action. There was divine intervention, after all. “There are at least 20 rogue monkeys. They sneak into hotel rooms for food and tear tourists’ clothes. But we can’t do anything. We worship them,” said Govind Singh of Dashashmed police station.

Singh has another problem to contend with. “There is no law under which I can punish a monkey for theft,” he said.