'Robin Hood' monkey gives out rupees

SHIMLA, India - A MONKEY sparked a dash for cash in a northern Indian town when it showered banknotes from a rooftop.

Passers-by in the hill town of Shimla spotted the monkey with a bundle of notes on Sunday, after it broke into a construction site in search of food.

Finding nothing to munch on, it stole 10,000 rupees (S$210) that a contractor had planned to pay his labourers, according to the Amar Ujala newspaper on Tuesday.

"I was returning from the temple when I suddenly saw some people looking up at currency notes flying. I noticed a monkey was dropping them from a tree," said resident Ashok Kumar.

"I also joined the crowd and picked up two notes of 100 rupees each."

Workers at the construction site had tried in vain to catch the thieving primate, which playfully tossed down money from the rooftop before continuing the handouts from a tree, to an eager crowd gathering below.

This is not the first time a monkey has played Robin Hood in Shimla. In February, a monkey stole a bag of cash and showered it over a crowded street in the town, to the delight of passers-by.

Get MyPaper for more stories.