Five-year-old girl mauled to death by stray dogs

A five-year-old girl was killed by a pack of stray dogs in Punjab's Sangrur district, police said today.

The deceased, identified as Ashu, was playing near her house on the outskirts of Bhindran village on Wednesday evening when the dogs attacked her, Deputy Inspector of Police (Rural) Sandeep Wadhera said.

The dogs caught Ashu by the neck and dragged her for about 300 metres before mauling her, he added.

A villager, who was passing by on a motorcycle, saw the dogs attacking Ashu and chased away the canines by throwing stones at them, the DSP said.

The man also informed the girl's parents, who had gone to fetch fodder from the fields, and she was rushed to Sangrur Civil Hospital.

Ashu was later referred to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala where she succumbed to injuries, Wadhera added.

Notably, several cases of attacks by feral hounds have been reported in Punjab, Haryana and their joint capital Chandigarh over the last few months. Municipal authorities have been struggling to find a solution to this problem.

Residents living in central and southern parts of Chandigarh complained that a growing number of stray dogs in parks and gardens had made it difficult for people and children to use them.

"I fear sending my children to play outside. The parks near our home are full of stray dogs and we cannot allow the children to go out without an adult accompanying them," a resident, Arun Kumar, said.