Monkeys go to jail

Monkeys 'arrested' for 'anti-human' activity across the northern Indian state of Punjab are summarily locked up in a special jail in Patiala, and held until they are 'fit to be released back into society'.

One 'hard case' inmate taken from Punjab Agricultural University campus at Ludhiana for attacking students has been at the jail, about 320 kilometres north of Delhi, for nearly a year.

A ferocious pair, captured from a Patiala neighbourhood for stealing handbags and lunch boxes, are reportedly being considered for parole.

Officials said they had been inundated with complaints about rogue monkeys from across Punjab but did not have enough manpower to deal with them all.