New Delhi: A seven-year-old girl suffered more than 15 injuries after she was reportedly attacked by a neighbour’s dog in Rohini’s Sector-25 area, police said on Tuesday. The incident happened on January 9 when a child was playing with her friends inside her housing society and an American Bully dog allegedly assaulted her, they said. Many members of the society staged a protest against dog menace in their area.
The girl’s father told PTI that she had multiple severe injuries on her hand, back, behind her ear, leg, and under her eyes. “My seven-year-old daughter was playing with her friends around 5 pm on January 9. A neighbour’s American Bully pet dog suddenly assaulted her,” Shrikant Bhagat told PTI on the phone.
“I am grateful that she resisted and started shouting, which made us reach the spot on time and save her life,” Bhagat said. He said that his daughter is traumatised and has not been able to sleep for more than three days. “Since the dog owner is stubborn, we have decided to file an FIR against him as his pet was not on a leash,” Bhagat, who runs a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar, said.
They have decided to take their daughter for a holiday to overcome the traumatic experience, he added. Meanwhile, residents of the society where the victim lived held a torch march in protest against dog menace in their area.
Protesters chanted slogans such as “dog feeding band karo” (stop feeding stray dogs), “dog lovers saavdhaan, khatron me hai bachchon ki jaan” (dog lovers be careful, the lives of children are at risk). “We are not against dog feeding, or having pets. Pet lovers must realise that such pets can be harmful for kids,” a protester said.
Police have registered a case under sections 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animal), and 337 (whoever causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others) of the IPC.
“We have started an investigation into the matter. Accused will be asked to join the investigation,” said a senior police officer.
