Toddler mauled to death by stray dogs in Delhi, family demands action against people feeding them

New Delhi: A two-year-old girl was allegedly mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in the Dhobhi Ghat area of New Delhi's Tughlaq Lane, police said on Sunday.

The alleged incident occurred around 6 pm on Saturday. The child was sitting outside her home when four to five dogs attacked her, dragged her for several metres and mauled her to death, they said.

The body was handed over to the girl's family after an autopsy and an investigation has begun, they added.

A senior New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) official told PTI, "It is a very sad and unfortunate incident. A team of veterinarians visited the spot and it was found that the dogs in the area are vaccinated and sterilised. The police inquiry will make things clearer."

The girl's family claimed that some people feed the stray dogs near the locality and demanded strict action against them.

"Around 6 pm, four to five stray dogs suddenly attacked our child, dragged her for 100-150 metres and mauled her," said Ravi, the victim's uncle.

He also claimed that this was not the first stray dog attack in the area.

"These same dogs attacked children playing outside their homes, cats and chicken," Ravi said and added that locals repeatedly complained to the authorities concerned but those were ignored.

"We are poor people. When we tried to stop those who feed the dogs, they threatened us with a police complaint," he alleged.

The locals also complained about these people to the police but they took no action, Ravi claimed.

A senior police officer said, "A police team and forensic experts were sent to the spot after we received information about the incident. The girl was rushed to a hospital where she died during treatment. Further investigation has begun."

The alleged incident is the latest in a string of dog attacks in Delhi since the turn of the year.

On January 29, a seven-year-old girl suffered more than 15 injuries after allegedly being attacked by her neighbour's American Bully while playing outside with her friends in Rohini's Sector-25 area.

In another incident on January 22, a two-year-old girl was allegedly attacked by a pet dog in northeast Delhi's Vishwash Nagar.

A day before that, a seven-year-old boy was injured in northwest Delhi's Mahendra Park area after allegedly being attacked by a Pitbull.

In the Shahbad Dairy area, a seven-year-old girl was allegedly attacked by another American Bully when she was playing near her home.

In another incident, a Pitbull allegedly snatched an 18-month-old child from her grandfather's lap and mauled her in Burari's Uttarakhand Colony.