Pack of stray dogs maul second boy to death in a week in Ludhiana

Six days after a 10-year-old boy was killed, pack of stray dogs fatally attack 13-year-old son of a farmer at Hasanpur village, located near a carcass ground where they feed.

In another shocking incident, a pack of stray dogs mauled a 13-year-old boy, Harsukhpreet Singh, to death at Hasanpur village of Mullanpur Dakha in Ludhiana on Saturday morning. This is the second such incident in the village this week as the dogs had mauled 10-year-old Arjun Kumar to death on January 5.

Harsukhpreet Singh, 13, who was killed by a pack of stray dogs while he was playing outside his house on the periphery of Hasanpur village in Mullanpur Dakha, Ludhiana, on Saturday. (HT file photo)

Dakha deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Varinder Singh Khosa confirmed the incident.

Harsukhpreet, a student of Class 5, is the only son of his parents. His father is a small-time farmer.

DSP Khosa said that the family lives on the periphery of the village and their house does not have a boundary wall. Harsukhpreet was playing outside the house when the dogs, which feed on the village’s carcass ground nearby, attacked him. His parents rushed to his rescue but in vain. The dogs relented only after more villagers joined in and rushed the boy to hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

The villagers expressed concern over the attacks by stray dogs on children. Gurmukh Singh, a villager, said: “Children are vulnerable. The carcass ground should be shifted or these dogs should be taken away.”

Arjun Kumar, 10, who fell prey to the stray dogs at Hasanpur on January 5, lived with his family in a makeshift hut outside the village. While playing outside his house, he noticed a kite and ran to catch it with two friends. The chase led him to an open plot near the village cremation ground, where the dogs attacked him. Arjun’s friends ran back to the village but were too scared to inform anyone about what had happened. It was only when a passer-by noticed Arjun’s body that the villagers were alerted.

The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) took suo motu cognizance of the incident and chairperson Justice Sant Parkash called for a report from the Ludhiana municipal corporation commissioner and deputy commissioner. The report is to be submitted a week before the hearing on March 4.