Thaindian News

Jammu, July 5 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday expressed shock at seeing pictures of a monkey in a government hospital in Jammu and said he had sought an explanation from the minister. Hospital authorities, however, said the picture was “fake”.

“I am shocked by the images of the monkey in a Jammu hospital. Before I say anything I owe it to my Minister to first ask him to explain,” Omar Abdullah posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

According to a cabinet minister, it was perhaps for the first time in the history of state that the activities of a monkey were discussed in the cabinet.

According to sources, Medical Education Minister R.S. Chib has been directed to look into the matter after some local media reported the case of a monkey lying comfortably on a bed of emergency wing of the Government Medical College (GMC) Wednesday.

The scared patients called the security people, who refused to do anything.

However, GMC superintendent Manoj Chalotra denied that monkey or stray dogs keep roaming in the corridors of the hospital, and blamed media for “cooking up the story”.

Replying to queries of media persons, he said: “Those photos and video are all fake. Give them to me and I will get their forensic tests done.”

The reports had quoted a patient’s attendant as saying that the monkey was on the bed for three hours before it went out on its own.

The patients naturally got scared by this, but most of them were on drip and unable to un away.

An attendant said that apart from the monkey, stray dogs often roamed in the corridors of the hospital and he had chased one away as it was about to bite the urine bag pipe (catheter) of his uncle.