Four-year-old boy killed by stray dogs in Hyderabad, clip sends shock waves

HYDERABAD: In yet another horrifying incident, a four-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs on Sunday in Erukala Basti in Amberpet in the city. Footage of the grisly incident captured by CCTV cameras and shared on social media on Monday showed the boy surrounded by stray dogs which attacked him, sparking an outrage.

The incident occurred when the victim Pradeep, his six-year-old sister Meghana, and their father Gangadhar were heading to an automobile service shop where the victim's father was a watchman. Gangadhar, from the Nizamabad district, moved to Hyderabad four years ago for work.

The boy entered the service centre with his father while the girl remained seated in the cabin next to the entrance. Gangadhar went to go to another area for work while the boy was playing.

After playing for a while, Pradeep walked towards the cabin to look for his sister when he was attacked by stray dogs. According to officials, the boy was carrying a food packet when the dogs sprang at him, biting him and rendering him unconscious with serious injuries. The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In a knee-jerk reaction, the civic officials captured roughly 30 dogs from Amberpet, sterilised them, and released them back into the neighbourhood. The corporation officials claimed that the dog-catching drive is held on a regular basis, and that the GHMC was carrying out the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Regulations 2001 as well as the Animal Welfare Board of India's standard operating procedures.

Further, the officials claimed that the stray dogs under the GHMC limits are regularly caught as per the ABC/AR programme, and that they shift them to animal care centres at Autonagar, Chudibazar, Patelnagar, KPHB Colony, and Jeedimetla for sterilisation and rabies immunisation.

Strangely, neither the GHMC mayor nor the state government offered any compensation for the family. Meanwhile, minister K.T. Rama Rao expressed condolences to the family members, calling the incident tragic and promising that steps would be made to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The government was making earnest efforts to eliminate the stray dog scourge in all Telangana municipalities by sterilising the stray dogs, and animal protection centres and animal population control centres had also been established for this purpose, he claimed.

After offering condolences to the bereaved family members, minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav said he would hold a meeting with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) authorities on Thursday to find a solution to the city's stray dog and monkey problem.