The Ghaziabad police on Tuesday night booked four persons — a woman and her family members –for allegedly sheltering stray dogs after one of their dogs reportedly bit a 15-year-old boy, who died of suspected rabies on Monday.
The corporation officials said they have served a notice on the woman, a resident of Charan Singh Colony in Ghaziabad’s Vijay Nagar, asking her to clarify whether the dogs in question are vaccinated or not.
The FIR was filed on a complaint given by the boy’s grandfather, Matloob Ahmad, who told the police that a woman in their neighbourhood has sheltered about six to seven dogs that have not been vaccinated and are allowed to roam free on the street outside their home.
“These dogs regularly bark at children, and sometimes even bite them. But the woman and her family members get annoyed when residents complain about this. My grandson was bitten by one of her dogs about a month ago and I along with other residents told her about this. She told us that we should not worry as the dogs were vaccinated,” Ahmad said in his FIR lodged at Vijay Nagar police station.
He said for the past three days, his grandson Shahvez has symptoms of salivation, hydrophobia and fear of light.
He said that when asked, Shahvez told them that the neighbourhood dog had bitten him about a month ago.
“There was a dog bite mark on his leg. We took him to different hospitals in Delhi and Ghaziabad but none of them admitted him after seeing his condition. The doctors told us that the condition has resulted as the dog that bit him may not have been vaccinated. We finally took him to our native place in Bulandshahr where he died a painful death in his father’s arms,” Ahmad said.
The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animal) and 304a (causing death by negligence). The FIR names the neighbourhood woman and her family members.
Several videos of the ill boy with his father have been shared on social media as well.
“The FIR has been filed in the case of boy’s death due to dog bite and we are investigating the entire incident,” said Nimish Patil, assistant commissioner of police (city 1).
“She has sent us some documents which say that the dog was vaccinated. We will inquire if the dogs were pets or strays. If a dog is kept as a pet, the responsibility to get it registered and vaccinated lies with its owner. In case of stray dogs, the responsibility is of the agency which the corporation has hired for sterilisation and vaccination. The agency is supposed to catch strays and get them sterilised and vaccinated as well,” said a corporation official, who asked not to be named.
However, the official did not share with the media the vaccination documents that the woman is reported to have submitted.
According to municipal officials, the Ghaziabad city has about 40,000 stray dogs and about 25,000 of them have been sterilised till date.
“We have asked our health-care workers to inspect the area where the incident happened. It seems to be a case of suspected rabies. We are inquiring into the incident and will soon issue an advisory to residents and also speak to the municipal corporation to take action,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer.
