E-Paper
Dog menace in valley: boys body found in Jhelum
The body of 10-year-old Omar Farooq Sheikh was recovered from the Jehlum river in north Kashmir’s Sumbal town, three weeks after slipping into the river.
The body of 10-year-old Omar Farooq Sheikh was recovered from the Jehlum river in north Kashmir’s Sumbal town, three weeks after slipping into the river.
The boy, a Class IV student, had reportedly slipped into the river after being chased by stray dogs outside his home at Zaina Kadal in the old city on March 14.
“His body was recovered from Sumbal on Wednesday. The post-mortem of the body was done and was then handed over to the family,” said superintendent of North City Shokat Hussain.
“A case of death under mysterious circumstances has been registered. Some people say stray dogs chased him. But no eyewitness has come forward,” he said.
The boy’s family is furious with the government for failing to curb the dog menace.
This is the third death being blamed on the dog menace in Kashmir. In March, two boys died of dog bites in two separate incidents in the state.
The dog menace has reached alarming proportions in the Valley with Srinagar alone having a dog population of around one lakh according to estimates of the state’s community medicine department.
Last year, more than 8,000 dog bites were registered across the city. The administration even issued shoot-at-sight orders to kill rabid canines after the two deaths.
