KANNUR: Observing that the death of an 11-year-old boy in a stray dog attack in Kannur district of Kerala "as unfortunate", the Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the opinion of the state government on a plea seeking permission to euthanise rabid stray dogs.
Welcoming the Supreme Court's observation, Kannur district panchayat president P P Divya, who approached the Supreme Court, said she is confident that the court will understand the severity of the situation.
Nihal Noushad, an 11-year-old autistic boy from Muzhappilangad, was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs on June 11.
A 9-year-old girl had sustained grievous injuries in a stray dog attack in the same locality on June 19.
“The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the petition on July 12. We are happy that the court has viewed our petition as a serious issue to be considered urgently. We hope that the court would take a favourable decision”, she said.
“The stray dog menace is giving sleepless nights to many in the district. I hope the system would understand the fear of the people here and would be with us in this fight,” said Divya.
“It is pertinent to mention that 5,794 stray dog attacks were reported in Kannur district in 2019. As many as 3951 were injured in 2020. The number rose to 7,927 in 2021 and 11,776 cases in 2022. This year 6276 people were injured in stray dog attacks in Kannur till June 19, 2023,” the district panchayat said in the petition.
The vacation bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice M M Sundaresh issued a notice to the Kerala government and directed it to file a reply by July 7.
The matter was mentioned before the bench for an urgent hearing. The case will come up for a hearing on July 12.