Feral dog attacks continue, another girl injured

In yet another incident, an eight-year-old girl, Sonam, was on Thursday attacked and severely injured by a pack of feral dogs in Khairampur village of Manpur area, bordering Khairabad and Talgaon areas of Sitapur.

Dog attacks in Sitapur district have claimed lives of at least 13 children since November last year. Of these, seven were killed in since May 1 while seven children were severely injured in such attacks this month.

Om Prakash, station officer (SO) of Manpur police station, said the incident took place when Sonam had gone to attend nature’s call alone near her village around 6.30 am. He said a group of villagers who were irrigating the field nearby rescued the girl after hearing her screams.

The SO said the villagers informed that there were at least 7-8 feral dogs that attacked the girl and fled towards Madarpur village after being chased. The girl’s father, Chhotelal informed the police about the incident. The pack of dogs also attacked a goat in Madarpur village, said Om Prakash.

Om Prakash said the girl had been sent to the district hospital for medical treatment where her condition was stated to be out of danger. The attack was on the same pattern as those reported in the past few weeks.

On Wednesday afternoon, a nine-year-old girl, Pallavi, was injured in an attack by a pack of feral hounds in Barabhari village of Khairabad area which is barely 5 km from Khairampur village of Manpur police area.

So far, the feral dogs were untraceable despite extensive combing operations in the villages affected by canine scare, said the SO. As a precautionary measure, drummers and announcers had been deployed by the district administration to alert people about feral dog attacks in Khairabad area of Sitapur, he added.

Canine menace continues in Sitapur district despite the deployment of government officials (from lekhpal to sub divisional magistrates) to check such incidents. Apart from the 22 villages most affected by dog attacks, district officials marked 26 other villages for their operation where sightings of feral dogs were reported.