7-Year-Old Boy Bravely Fights Monkeys To Save Elderly Woman In A Park

A seven-year-old boy bravely fought off a troupe of aggressive monkeys to save a woman in a park. The minor was later awarded by residents of a nearby colony for his bravery.

The incident happened Monday morning in Meerut city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The boy, Tejas Pradhan, a dog lover, was feeding a pack of stray canines nearby when he saw 70-year-old Asha Vij lying on the ground and surrounded by the monkeys in the park, The Times Of India reported.

Pradhan immediately grabbed a stick and ran towards the troupe of primates to rescue the elderly woman. The boy’s loyal band of street dogs followed him and together they were able to scare the monkeys that fled soon after.

"We heard a commotion and rushed outside. There was an elderly woman lying on the ground inside the park while this child was fearlessly challenging the monkeys with a stick as dogs gave him cover," Kapil Bishnoi, an eyewitness, was quoted as saying by the daily.

Vij, who escaped the incident with minor scratches, praised the boy for his bravery and quick action. "I was taking a walk in the park on Monday morning when all of a sudden several monkeys attacked me," the woman was cited as saying by the Times Of India.

"I had even fallen, when all of a sudden Tejas and his dogs appeared and scared the simians away," she added.

Tejas told the daily: "All dogs in my colony are my friends. We together defeated the monkeys. I will not allow them to come here again." The boy was awarded by locals for his bravery. "It was indeed a brave act for a child of just seven," said Lokesh Sharma, the president of the colony's welfare association. "Maybe, after this incident, the authorities will take note."

Sharma said people in the area have been asking the authorities to tackle the monkey menace but little has been done to solve the matter.

Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut has had previous notorious incidents involving primates. In May 2020, a troupe of monkeys attacked a frontline health worker and ran away with blood samples of COVID-19 patients, reported NDTV.

The hospital staff clarified that the samples were not throat swabs used to confirm COVID-19 positivity in a person.