Four-year-old girl lost her life when a pack of stray dogs attacked her in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, in the country’s most populous state.
The incident took place on Sunday evening on the Oharpur-Bassi Jalal link road under Tanda police station area. The victim, identified as Gungun, was the daughter of migrant labourers Ram Jeevan and Preeti who had been travelling from Dhyanpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district to Punjab for seasonal paddy transplantation work.
According to police, the couple had left their daughter resting under the shade of a tree near a tubewell about 100 metres from the agricultural field where they were working. About 5:30 pm a pack of nearly seven stray dogs attacked the child alone.
The dogs dragged the girl some distance, leaving her with severe injuries. When her parents and fellow labourers ran to the scene, the animals ran off before rescue, and they were able to get her to safety.
Gungun was immediately taken to the Community Health Centre in Tanda and doctors administered first aid. As her injuries were so serious, she was admitted to the hospital in Hoshiarpur for treatment. However, she later died at a private hospital.
The grieving family had been staying in Bassi Jalal village temporarily for the ongoing paddy transplantation season. Like many migrant workers, they had traveled to Punjab in search of seasonal employment.
Station House Officer (SHO) of Tanda Police Station, Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, confirmed that police have initiated an investigation into the incident. The authorities are investigating all aspects of the case while local officials are also going to be involved in the stray dog situation in the area.
The tragic death has once more put attention on stray dog attacks in India across the country. Increasingly, animal attacks, specifically that of children and elderly people, have become a public safety issue and there are calls for better management of stray dog populations and the welfare of animals.
Residents in a number of places have asked civic authorities to ensure sterilisation, vaccination and monitoring services to curb the risk of such incidents. Public awareness, waste management and coordination among local authorities and animal welfare organisations are also a must in these situations, the experts have said.
Gungun’s death has left her family devastated and revived the debate over how well public safety can be balanced with humane management of stray animals.
