An eight-year-old girl found in the forest bordering Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh a few months ago has been named Mowgli girl by the locals as she behaves like a monkey.
“The girl can neither speak nor behave like normal human being. She shrieks like a monkey and whoever goes near her is attacked by her,” police officer Dinesh Tripathi told The Pioneer on Thursday.
The girl has been admitted in hospital in Bahraich.
Tripathi said the girl was spotted in January by some woodcutters who informed police about her roaming freely with monkeys.
“They said the girl was naked and seemed quite comfortable in the company of the simians. When they tried to rescue the girls, they were chased away by the monkeys,” the officer said.
“In mid-February, Inspector Suresh Yadav again spotted the girl in the thickets while he was on regular patrol duty in Katarniya Ghat forest range,” Tripathi said.
“When I called the girl, monkeys attacked me. But anyhow I was able to rescue the girl and I sped away in my official vehicle while the irate monkeys gave a chase,” he said.
The girl was first taken to local dispensaries and later shifted to district hospital in Bahraich.
“She cannot speak Hindi or any language.
From her behaviour, we can say she has lived a long period with monkeys. In the last two months, there has been a change in her behavioural pattern. Now, she walks on her two legs but as she gets frightened, she starts crawling on all four legs, like monkeys,” the officer said.
Chief Medical Officer, Bahraich District hospital Dr Dileep Kumar Singh said when the girl was brought to the hospital she had bruises all over her body. “Now, her condition has improved but still she does not eat using her hands. We give her food in a plate but she first throws the food on floor and eats directly from there,” Dr Singh said.