Physical description (varied) - 4-8 feet tall, covered in thick black hair, glowing red eyes, vulpine snout, metal claws, muscular body
Attributes - metal helmet, three buttons on chest, roller-skates
The Monkey-man of Delhi, also known as the Face Scratcher or the Black Monkey, is an unknown anomaly which was reported to be roaming Delhi in mid-2001. The entire incident has been described as an example of mass hysteria in India.[1][2][3]
In May 2001, reports circulated in New Delhi, India concerning a monkey-like creature that attacked people at night.[4] Eyewitness accounts were often inconsistent, but usually described the creature as about four feet (120cm) tall,[5] covered in thick black hair, with a metal helmet, metal claws, glowing red eyes and three buttons on its chest. Some reports also claim that it wore roller-skates.[6] Others, however, described the Monkey-man as having a more vulpine snout, and being up to eight feet tall, and muscular; it would leap from building to building.[citation needed]
Over 350 sightings of the Monkey-man were reported, as well as around 60 resulting in injuries.[7] Police released artist's sketches of eyewitness accounts in an attempt to catch the creature. Two (by some reports, three) people reportedly died when they fell from the tops of buildings or down stairwells in a panic caused when they thought they were under attack.[5]
In popular culture
Film
In the Tamil film Dhill (2001), a comic character named Ezhumalai (Mayilsamy) boards an all-women’s bus and flirts with a passenger, who turns out to be a plainclothes cop. As Ezhumalai is tackled by the cop, one of his associates, 'Megaserial' Mahadevan (Vivek), jokingly comments from outside: "He is that Delhi Monkey Man! Take him to the [police] station!".[8]
The appearance of Monkey-man in Old Delhi is the centre-point of the Hindi film Delhi-6 (2009) directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. In the film, the creature is used as an allegory to represent the evil that resides inside every man alongside God (virtue).
Television
In 2012, the Hindi TV series Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein featured a story track around the mystery of "Kala Bandar" (Black Monkey).[9]
In the 2011 graphic novel Munkeeman by Tere Bin Laden director Abhishek Sharma, the creature is interpreted as a misunderstood superhero, who was the result of a science experiment gone wrong. The first edition, Munkeeman Vol 1 chronicled the creatures brief appearance in Delhi, and the second edition will feature the creature in Kanpur, based on the incidents reported in February 2002.[citation needed]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
India 
New Delhi, NCT of Delhi 