New Delhi, May 18 :    New Delhi, May 18:  Mass hysteria and rumours are taking over the lives of Delhiites as the elusive 'monkey-man' continues to attack and vanish without a trace. Police said the paranoia was not just restricted to the east Delhi area bordering Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh from where the attacks began, but has spread as far as the upmarket colonies of south Delhi. In east Delhi, the driver of a Maruti van was severely beaten up last night by a mob because of a helmet lying inside his car. This followed reports of the 'monkey-man' being described by some of its victims as wearing a helmet. Overpowered by anger, hysteria and perhaps hallucination, the mob swooped down on the car and thrashed the driver, according to police sources. Delhi Police, which have its hands full trying to track down the creature, is also having to deal with rumour-mongers. Over 80 distress calls, mostly fake, were received from all over the capital. The police today arrested two persons in east Delhi for spreading rumours. One of them, Dr Narendra Sagar, was arrested in the Shakarpur area for frightening his neighbours by throwing an inflated doctor's glove - painted black - on the street. The hysteria had led to a person jumping to death in northwest Delhi on Wednesday night following a false alarm raised by his neighbour. 'The current paranoia is in the minds of the people. It is a form of hallucination. People start perceiving things and objects out of obsessive compulsive behaviour,' South Delhi deputy commissioner of police P. Kamraj explained. D.L. Sheth, a sociologist at the Centre of Social Research, believes that the mass phobia is not class-specific, although all the incidents of attacks have been reported from jhuggi clusters and lower-end colonies. 'It transcends the parameter of class. In Western countries, people claimed to have had encounters with UFOs, while in Ireland people have seen Mother Mary in the clouds. This is collective hallucination, which appears in a wave,' he said. The Shiv Sena is urging people not to believe in rumours and superstitions. State executive member Abhimanyu Gulati said: 'We are setting up vigilante groups armed with swords, tridents and lathis in the affected areas.' Gulati also blamed the Centre for its 'inactivity' and alleged that the situation was the result of intelligence failure. 'If the government cannot deal with the monkey mania, how will it look after the problems ravaging its borders?' he asked. Predictably, the Sena activist did not at the same time rule out the ISI's 'involvement' in the affair.