Recently, three separate incidents of children being attacked by stray dogs have come to light. The first was reported from Warangal town in Telangana, the second from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, and the third from the Sirohi district of Rajasthan.
On Wednesday, March 1, stray dogs attacked a seven-year-old boy playing outside his house near Pochamma Gudi in the Kashibugga area of Warangal town in Telangana.
When the boy, identified as Rohith, began screaming, villagers came to his aid and drove away the four dogs that had attacked him. The child had bite marks on his head and hands by then.
Rohith’s parents rushed him to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital, where he is currently recovering.
Stray dogs mauling a toddler to death in Bareilly, UP
In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, a pack of 15 to 20 stray dogs mauled a 3-year-old girl to death. The incident reportedly happened late on Tuesday (February 28) evening in the Bandia village where the victim resided. “The dogs dragged the toddler for around 100 meters and mauled her badly,” the police said.
The family members of the victim rushed her to hospitals where doctors declared her dead. According to the doctors, the victim, identified as Pari, daughter of Avdesh Gangwar, a labourer, had 200 bite marks on her body.
According to locals, on Tuesday evening, Pari went towards a field to play when around seven-eight stray dogs pounced on her. A youth heard her cry for help and rushed to rescue her. He too was bitten by the dogs when he rescued Pari from the dogs. Pari was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Pari’s uncle Jitendra Kumar said, “She walked far from the house and no one in the family could hear her screams for help. The dogs even dragged her and bit her all over the body, causing deep injuries, especially on the neck.”
Stray dogs enter the hospital, kill infant sleeping next to mother in Rajasthan
In a similar incident reported on Tuesday, February 28, a month-old baby boy was mauled to death by stray dogs in a district hospital in the Sirohi district of Rajasthan, while she was reportedly sleeping next to his mother. The body was found outside the hospital ward.
Rajasthan Police said the CCTV footage showed that two dogs went inside the TB ward of the hospital on Monday night and one of them returned with the infant.
SHO Kotwali, Sitaram sad Mahendra Meena, the child’s father, was brought to the hospital for silicosis treatment. He claimed that the child’s mother, Rekha, who was caring for the patient alongside her three children, fell asleep when the incident happened. He also claimed that no hospital staff was present at the time of the incident.
“Post-mortem has been conducted by a medical board. A case will be registered in the matter after further investigation,” the SHO said.
Meanwhile, the child’s father accused hospital and police officials of forcing his wife to sign blank papers and perform his child’s final rites without informing him.
“I was admitted to the hospital on Monday. Dogs were coming inside the ward and I chased them away. My wife woke up at 2 am and found the dogs mauling our child. Today, the hospital authorities and police took the signature of my wife on blank papers and got the last rites of my son done without informing me. I could not even see my son’s face,” Meena said.
The hospital administration has also initiated a probe into the matter.
Similar incident of dog attack happened in Hyderabad
On February 19, Sunday, stray street dogs killed a 4-year-old boy in a housing society in Hyderabad, Telangana. As per reports, the boy was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. CCTV footage of the incident had then gone viral on social media.
Hyderabad | A 5-yr-old boy, Pradeep mauled to death by stray dogs on 19th Feb. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared brought dead.
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2023
Gangadhar, the boy’s father & a security guard had taken him to his workplace & the dogs attacked him while he was roaming alone
(Pic: CCTV) pic.twitter.com/yeZB6DGSLx
Street dog menace
This is not the first time stray dogs have killed or attacked a child. There have been several such reports where a pack of dogs attacks children, women, elders, and vulnerable members across the country. Not only street dogs but incidents of pets attacking without provocation have also come to the fore many times.
