Taking strong exceptions to a cerebral palsy student of National Law University, Odisha (NLUO) facing dog attacks 15 times in one month, the Orissa High Court has ordered relocation of all stray dogs from the campus within 24 hours.
A division bench comprising Orissa High Court Chief Justice S. Talapatra and Judge Savitri Ratho, while hearing a public interest litigation on August 28, took note of the gravity of the situation and directed the Commissioner of Cuttack Municipal Corporation to engage a squad under supervision of the health officer for relocating all the stray dogs from NLUO campus within 24 hours.
In the past month, Aditya Roy Chowdhury, a first-year student of NLUO, who suffers from cerebral palsy and 65% disability has been chased by the stray dogs in the university campus 15 times and bitten seven times. The last attack was on August 26. Each time, he had to take anti-rabies injection, the PIL pointed out.
Senior counsel P. K. Rath who represented NLUO in the HC submitted that the student was suffering from acute anxiety and unstable blood pressure while his mental and physical health had been gravely affected by the series of incidents. The student had to be taken to the hospital on account of his health condition on August 27.
As per the university, the dogs were not original habitants of the campus as they had migrated from the nearby locations like Brajabiharipur and Naraj.
Unless those are relocated to their original habitat, normalcy would not return to the university campus, and for that purpose, the CMC should be directed for immediate relocation of those dogs, the university had urged. Moreover, the concerned student and his parents had requested to the university to ensure safety in the wake of multiple chasings and biting attacks in the last one month.
About 15-20 stray dogs were reported to have involved in attacks, biting and chasing the NLUO student and security staff had to rush to rescue him. The university also informed that due to ongoing mating season of dogs, the campus dogs had become even more aggressive.
There had been an attempt to sterilise those dogs. The university wanted the stray dogs to be relocated from the campus to their original habitat in different villages following the guidelines issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India. The Orissa HC is slated to hear the matter on August 30.
