Hyderabad: On December 24, a four-month-old toddler boy died due to serious injuries caused by the attack of three stray dogs. It is a recent one in the series of such gruesome incidents in the city.
The toddler was sleeping in his cradle in a hut in the Vinoba Nagar neighborhood in the Shaikpet area of Hyderabad. He was attacked by three stray dogs on December 8. The deceased, Sharat, was the only four-month-old son of daily-wage laborers Anji and Anusha. He was hospitalized at the Osmania General Hospital. He left his last breath on Monday after fighting for life for 17 days.
The toddler's mother, Anusha, had gone to hand over the keys to the local community hall when the attack took place. Anji, who is a mechanic, was not present when a pack of stray dogs entered the hut and lacerated the boy on the head, neck, and face.
After hearing the cries of the toddler, neighbors rushed to the hut and took him to a nearby hospital. He was then shifted to the Niloufer Hospital. On the recommendation of doctors, the parents shifted him to the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) for better treatment. In this hospital, he got medical care in the Neurosurgery ICU (NSICU).
The doctors performed surgeries on the toddler to save his life. However, after 17 days of battling for his life, he succumbed to the injuries. The child died due to brain injuries caused by the dog bite, as confirmed by a doctor from the OGH. The parents broke down after hearing the shocking news of their four-month-old baby’s demise.
Citizens of that area are enraged with the authorities for their speculative actions, as the stray dogs are attacking children at regular intervals. They had registered a complaint with the police, who in turn registered a case based on CCTV footage.
The veterinary wing of the GHMC caught 20 street dogs from Vinoba Nagar, where the attack took place, but found that all of them had already been sterilized. As per the guidelines, the dogs were subsequently released in the same area.
Earlier this year, in February, a five-year-old boy was attacked to death by stray dogs in the Amberpet area, and the entire incident was captured on a CCTV camera.
After this incident, the civic authorities announced new measures to check the menace of stray dogs, but citizens said these would not bring about any positive change.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/Komal Bhoi)
