A monkey has been caught stealing petrol from bikes in Panipat, India, to satiate its addiction to the fuel.

The local merchants, who leave their two-wheelers at the parking lot near Insaar Bazaar were a hassled lot.

Over the last few weeks, someone had been stealing petrol from their bikes after removing the fuel pipe. After stealing, the thief would leave the pipe dangling draining the tank completely.

The hassled traders kept vigil to catch the thief.

It was then they saw a monkey acting strangely in the area. It would approach the bikes and sit near them quietly seemingly waiting for the people to clear the area.

They sneaked up on the monkey and found that when no one was around, it would remove the pipe and start drinking petrol from it. After having its fill, it would move away only to return a few hours later to target some other bike.

Gaurav Leekha, who runs a volunteer organisation in the city said: “The monkey was clearly addicted to the petrol. It would refuse to eat even bananas and nuts if anyone offered it.”

Merchants said while they were upset about losing petrol, the monkey was quite harmless. “It would not trouble anyone as it was perhaps always high,” said Leekha.

As the merchants kept a lookout and started shooing away the monkey, it left the area and moved elsewhere perhaps to pursue its addiction in peace.

While the addiction of sniffing or drinking petrol and other volatile substances is known, it has been perhaps spotted in a monkey for the first time.

Experts say the chemicals in the petrol, such as butane, give a high which lasts for