Recently, a story regarding a young girl who was discovered 'living with monkeys' shocked the world. Many people compared her plight to that of Mowgli in The Jungle Book. However, the truth behind the story looks a lot more sinister than that of a Disney film.
The girl, aged around eight, was found by forest rangers in the Katarniya Ghat forest range. She was reportedly naked, crawling on all fours and screeching at people. There were other accounts that police had to fight off monkeys to retrieve the girl, who seemingly was acting like a monkey.
Now, the district chief forestry officer, JP Singh has cleared up the story. He said: "I think the family members of this girl had been aware that she is not able to speak, and they may have abandoned her near the forest road.
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"If she was living with monkeys it would have been for a few days only, not for a long time.
"It is clear from first time view, if you see the girl, that she is only eight or nine years old, but her facial expressions show that she is disabled, not only mentally but also physically,"
The girl has been receiving treatment at a hospital in Bahraich since she was found. The chief medical officer said it was difficult to "say exactly when she was abandoned".
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When she was found, she was behaving 'violently', had no toilet habits and couldn't communicate. Therefore, people made assumptions.
Leading activist Ranjana Kumari said: "Some families value girls less than boys.
"They would rather get rid of the girl than spend money on her. It is a lot more responsibility because of the social environment we live in."
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Credit: PA Images
The girl is moving to a children's home in Lucknow on Saturday where she'll continue to receive treatment and care.
Featured Image Credit: PA Images