A three year old boy, J. Prem Kumar, was mauled to death by stray dogs outside his home at Adavitakkellapadu village on Thursday afternoon. The boy was playing at the gate of Rajiv Gruha Kalpa housing project at Nallapadu when a pack of four dogs pounced on him and bit him. The boy’s head and body bore severe scratch marks.
Locals rushed to the scene on hearing the noise. The boy was rushed to the Government General Hospital, but was declared brought dead.
According to the police, the incident took place at 2 p.m. His parents left for work leaving the boy at home. The boy’s father, Yesu Babu, runs an eatery near GGH.
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The government’s housing complex has over 1,000 flats, mostly inhabited by daily wage workers. The surroundings of the colony are untidy and has often become happy hunting ground for stray dogs.
Expressing shock over the incident, Municipal Commissioner C. Anuradha said that urgent measures would be taken to control stray dog menace. Stating that animal birth control measures have been proved to be most effective against stray dog menace, she said that the GMC has so far administered 2,367 vaccines to dogs and has set up a vaccination centre on Etukuru Road. The Commissioner sought the cooperation of NGOs and civic society members in addressing the issue as any drastic measure would invite criticism of animal rights activists.