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Stray cow mauls 12-year-old girl in Ludhiana
The girl was relentlessly attacked for 30 seconds until locals drove off the animal with sticks; suffers severe injuries on her arms, legs, feet and back
A stray cow brutally mauled a 12-year-old girl, who was riding a bicycle, outside her house near Ayyappa Temple in Jamalpur on Thursday.
The victim, Kritika, a Class-8 student, was returning home from the market with her friend, Shraddha, when the cow charged at the girls. While Shraddha had a narrow escape, Kritika was not so lucky and suffered severe injuries on her arms, legs, feet and back. Hearing her screams, people came to her rescue and drove off the charging animal with sticks.
The victim’s father, Sushil Singh, who works as a labourer at a steel unit, said, “The attack took place just near the gate of our house. Three-four bovines were grazing in the area and one of them launched a vicious attack on my daughter. Fortunately, the animal did not attack her with its horns and residents came to her rescue in time. Though my daughter survived the attack, she was grievously wounded. The attack was so brutal that it is painful to watch the CCTV footage of the incident.”
A video clip of the incident reveals that the cow kept mauling the girl for 30 seconds.
Slamming the civic body for failing to rein in the stray cattle, Singh said that a large number of livestock roam the area and after the incident people were scared to let their children play on the streets.
Singh who has three daughters can barely afford Kritika’s treatment and has sought monetary aid from the authorities. “I work as a labourer and live in a rented accommodation. Around ₹1,500 was spent on first aid alone and her treatment is to continue. I urge the administration to help us.”
Councillor blames slum dwellers
On being apprised of the attack, ward number 23 councillor Sandeep Kumari blamed slum dwellers who run illegal dairy units in the area for the menace and sought action against them. She submitted a memorandum to MC Zone B commissioner Swati Tiwana on Friday and asked the civic body to have stray cattle removed from the area. Despite repeated attempts, Tiwana remained unavailable for comments.
