SALEM/NAMAKKAL: A four-year-old girl from Rasipuram in Namakkal district was left severely injured after a stray dog attacked her while she was playing outside her house, sparking widespread concern over rising dog attacks in the region.
The victim has been identified as S Dhiyasini (4) of Indira Colony in Rasipuram. On Monday, around 8 pm, the child was sitting and playing in front of her house when a stray dog suddenly appeared in the area. The dog pounced on the girl and bit her severely, causing severe injuries to the child's ear. She also sustained several other bites, including on her head, arms, legs, and stomach.
Hearing cries, neighbours rushed to the spot and came to her rescue. The severely injured child was taken immediately to a private hospital in Salem, where she has been admitted for treatment and is now under medical supervision.
In a separate incident in Salem, five more people were bitten by a stray dog near the Mettur Municipal Office on Monday. The victims have been identified as R Sathya (36), P Ranjith Kumar (41), A Rajendran (71), M Mani (30), and K Mathesan (60). All five were rushed to the Mettur District Headquarters Hospital, where they were given first aid and administered anti-rabies vaccinations before being discharged.
Local residents said that this was not the first time such attacks had occurred in Mettur. They recalled that in August, inside the Mettur Dam Park, a stray dog attacked and bit as many as 10 people in just two days.