Monkey steals iPhone at Vrindavan temple, barters it for cold drink 'bribe'

A monkey was seen stealing a man's iPhone in a video forwarded on Instagram. The incident took place at the Vrindavan temple and the monkey seemingly had to be bribed with a Frooti in order to return the phone.

With the simian troops zeroing in on tourist hotspots, especially religious ones where visitors tend to feed them, there is a growing monkey menace in both rural and urban areas across India.

There have been innumerable incidents in India where monkey troops have robbed people of their belongings. The hapless victims have to usually resort to 'bartering' with the monkey thieves, exchanging food or drink for their stolen items.

On January 6, something similar happened at the Sri Rangnath Ji Mandir in Vrindavan.

The video begins with two monkeys perched on a structure, one of them clutching a man's iPhone. A large group of people can be seen, trying to assist the man in getting his phone back from the monkey.

To make a deal, they throw a pack of Frooti at the monkey. Immediately after grasping the drink, the monkey lets go of the phone, which is smoothly caught by another man at ground-level.

Many Instagram users have shared their hilarious remarks on the incident. One of the comments said “Give and take policy” whereas another simply read “Barter System”.

"Monkeys have new ideas on how to get food." commented another user.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, a similar occurrence took place in Bali a few months ago when a woman offered a monkey two mangoes before it was persuaded to return her phone.