A monkey that is sitting atop the statue of Lord Hanuman for the past twenty-two days is attracting streams of people.

FROM LOCAL NEWS REPORT:

BANGALORE-AUG 23: This is the story of a male adult monkey that has metamorphosised as God Hanuman. No joke. A monkey sitting atop the statue of God Hanuman for the past twenty-two days is attracting streams of people to this unbelievable happening.

It all happened at Thimmaganapalli. A monkey just came inside the Altar or sanctum to the surprise of the priest and other on lookers. They bet the monkey with the stick and many have even threw stones. In the melee the monkey bore all this and came out with a new avatar as monkey God. The effort of the villagers to chase the monkey did not yield any results. The monkey doesn’t eat anything, not even a delicious banana.

       “This is the reincarnation of God. This monkey is no ordinary monkey. It has come here twenty two days back and sitting here day and night. I come in the morning and perform pooja till late night. Thousands of people across are coming to see this wonder. For the people of this village this is for
good. For the first five days we tried to chase this monkey away from the temple but it did not budge and inch. Then the elders decided that it is God and we are performing pooja,” said Krishnamurthy, priest of the Hanuman temple.
      
The word spread across attracting thousands of people to see this ardent devotee. “I have come from Hindupur to see this wonder. This is really God coming in new avatar and reincarnation. For me this is God and for Good, said Nirmala, a visitor.

     Even now the monkey is sitting atop the statue like a rock. People are thronging and performing pooja. (ANI)

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from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2224025.stm

Court orders release for ‘monkey god’

By Omer Farooq

BBC reporter in Hyderabad

Aug 29: A court in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has ordered the state authorities to help
free a monkey that has been confined inside a temple for the last month.
    
The monkey has been kept within the temple’s inner-most chambers in the belief that it is the reincarnation of a much loved Hindu monkey god – Hanuman. The court issued the orders in response to a writ petition filed by an animal rights group, Karuna, based in Anantapur.

    The bench directed the Anantapur district superintendent of police to send a team of veterinary doctors to examine the condition of the monkey and treat it as necessary.
    
The court also asked the police to extend all necessary help in securing the monkey’s freedom.
    
A spokesperson from the animal rights group, Gangi Reddy, said the monkey was locked up after local people spotted it perched atop an idol of Hanuman in a deserted temple on 1 August.

Devotees mistook the monkey to be a reincarnation of Hanuman and the animal has been forcibly confined within the temple’s inner sanctum ever since.

  Local officials say hundreds of devotees throng the temple every day to pay their respects to the monkey.

  But the court has directed local authorities to examine the entire episode and investigate allegations that the monkey is being used to exploit religious sentiments and make money.

   Meanwhile, a veterinary doctor who examined the monkey says the animal is in good health – and seems unwilling to leave the temple premises.