Stray dogs maul toddler to death

Sandeep, son of mason Sanjay and Nirmala from Chhapra district of Bihar, was lacerated by about four to five stray dogs that dragged him from the basement of Neha Prakash Hospital on 6th Main Road, Yelahanka New Town, 5th Phase, where he was fast asleep, between 4.30 and 5 am.

Sanjay, along with Sandeep and another child, went to sleep in the garage of the hospital around 2 am. The hapless toddler, however, apparently slipped out and went to sleep in another place. It was here that a pack of canines barged in and pulled the child away. 

When Sanjay woke up at 4 am, the child had gone missing. He raised an alarm and, soon, a search was launched for Sandeep. Around 6 am, his highly disfigured body was found in a garbage dump, about 400 metres from the hospital.

Sanjay and Nirmala had come to Bangalore 12 years ago. A pregnant Nirmala was admitted to the hospital at 6 am on Thursday. Eleven hours later, she had delivered a baby boy. Sanjay left three of his children at his house in Ananthpur Layout, Yelahanka New Town, and took along two others, including Sandeep, to be with his wife, police said. When the hospital refused to allow them to sleep inside, Sanjay and children slept in the garage.

BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah visited the spot at 11.30 am. Mayor Sharadamma announced a compensation of Rs one lakh to the boy’s family. According to C Kameshwari Devi, a BBMP official, Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath announced a compensation of
Rs 20,000 for the victim’s family while the local corporator promised to pay Rs 10,000 in the form of bonds.

In a press release, the BBMP refused to categorically state that dogs had mauled the boy. Given the spot where the body was found, It is unlikely that the boy went there on his own, the statement said. The entire stretch from the hospital to the spot had blood stains. The BBMP Joint Director (Animal Husbandry) said that it would be premature to believe that the boy was mauled by dogs. It could be a murder or a hit-and-run case, he said.  

Police believe it to be a clear case of mauling by dogs. Yelahanka New Town police have booked a case of unnatural death. Sandeep has become the second boy to be mauled by stray dogs in less than seven months. The earlier incident occurred at Bagalur.