HYDERABAD: An 8-year-old boy, Shafaat Ali, who was at the Masjid in Moula Ali to offer Namaz on Monday evening, was brutally mauled and bitten by a pack of street dogs. The child, a resident of the area was left with gaping wounds across his head, hands and private parts which left him bleeding profusely. He was rushed to the Gandhi Hospital.
According to locals, the boy was with his family near the dargah when suddenly a pack of nearly 15 dogs attacked him. Others present at the dargah at the time rushed to the aid of the boy and rescued him.
“The child arrived at the casualty in the evening with multiple lacerations on his perineal region, and all over the body. He was admitted to the paediatric surgery section but is out of danger and is stable,” Dr Shravan Kumar said adding that he was kept under observation. Meanwhile, GHMC officials maintain that the dogs were not rabid, and they were fighting with each other for the leftover food at the place. “The locals had a gathering for remembering Hazrat Ali and had some leftover food which attracted the dogs to come over there,” Srinivas Reddy, a veterinary officer of North Zone, GHMC, said.
The authorities were also quick to respond and sent two vehicles to capture all the dogs. As of now, 12 dogs have been captured by the dog squad. The incident also brings to the fore how the veterinary department in GHMC is severely unequipped to control the dog population that is having a free run in the city. According to officials, there are merely 5 doctors in each zone to tackle with 10,000-12,000 dogs. The North zone in the last five months has managed to neuter merely 3,400 dogs.