Hyderabad, May 24 (IANS): In an act of kindness, police in Telangana's Yadgirigutta fed bananas to monkeys going hungry due to closure of the Yadadri temple.

Inspector S. Janaki Reddy and other personnel brought bananas in a police vehicle and fed them to the animals.

Dozens of monkeys gathered near the policemen to receive their favourite fruit and satiate their hunger.

"Hanuman is divine vanara companion of Lord Rama. Here in Yadagirigutta S. Janaki Reddy (Inspector of Police) was divine companion in terms of satisfying the appetite of Vanara and showed his humanity towards animals," tweeted Yadadri police station, which falls under Rachakonda police commissionerate.

Devotees coming to the famous Sri Yadadri Laxmi Narasimha temple atop Yadgirigutta hill, about 60 km from Hyderabad, feed monkeys.

However, due to closure of the temple in view of ongoing lockdown, the animals are going hungry. Realising this, the police official arranged bananas.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bahgwat has appreciated the gesture of the Station House Officer.

In September last year, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had fed bananas to a group of monkeys. He had got down from the vehicle and personally fed bananas to the monkeys while returning from the temple after an inspection of the temple renovation works.

The Covid induced lockdown last year and subsequent drop in the number of devotees had left monkeys struggling for food.