Lucknow: Two more children were mauled to death and two others injured by stray dogs in UP’s Sitapur, three days after three kids were killed by a pack of canines.
The incident occurred on Friday when seven-year-old Geeta had gone to an orchard to collect mangoes in Mahsinghpur village, while 12-year-old Virendra had gone to attend nature’s call in Budhanapur village.
According to official records, 11 children have been killed so far, including the two deaths on Friday. However, according to local residents, almost 17 children have been killed till now by around 100 dogs in the radius of 20 kilometres, ranging from Khairabad and Sitapur Kotwali.
“Geeta, daughter of Sushil Shah from Mahsinghpur village, was killed by a pack of feral dogs while she was gathering mangoes in an orchard near her house around 6.30 am. Eleven-year-old girl Rinki, daughter of Tejpal, was also injured in a similar attack in Chaubeypur village,” Khairabad station house officer Sachin Kumar Singh said.
Sitapur Kotwali SHO Dharmendra Singh Raghuvanshi said, “Apart from Virendra in Budhanapur, seven-year-old Vinal was injured in Peerpur village.”
The dog menace continues even as Sitapur district administration and a four-member team of dogcatchers have been combing forested zones.
On Tuesday, a pack of stray dogs had killed three kids aged between 11 and 12 years in separate incidents across Tikaria, Gurpulia and Kholia in Sitapur.
All the four villages where attacks took place on Friday morning are located within 18 kilometres from the previous places of attack.
Speaking to reporters on the issue, Sitapur City Magistrate Harsh Dev Pandey said, “All the victims were probably alone when they were attacked by feral dogs. The villagers rushed to their aid as soon as they heard their cries, but failed to save them.”
Enraged villagers have now started hunting down canines on their own in the area and have also threatened to launch a mass stir against the district administration for failing to put a stop to the menace.
Residents claim that the canine menace in Sitapur district started after many slaughterhouses were shut down.
“The feral dogs used to get meat from these slaughterhouses. However, the abattoirs were closed or shifted to other places, the dogs started attacking children,” a villager said.
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