In an alarming incident, eleven people including a four-year-old child and a 75-year-old woman were injured after they were attacked by a pet dog at Poonithura in Ernakulam on Wednesday.
The child Sithara sustained injuries on her hand while Kausalya was attacked on her breast. Sithara was playing in the courtyard when the incident occurred. A 32-year-old man Mahesh also suffered a major injury while the others sustained minor injuries in the dog attack.
The incident happened at around 7 am at Jawahar Colony, Gandhi Square at Poonithura. The locals after much effort, caught the dog and handed it over to Animal Birth Control wing of the Kochi Corporation.
While the dog was locked up at night, it ran out when the lock was opened in the morning and began attacking people on the road.
Local Councillor VP Chandran told TNM that the incident happened in a congested colony where a lot of families live. “The dog was kept as a pet in one of the families. It is not usual to cage the dog and it roams around freely. It’s an area where ordinary people live,” he said.
The injured people received treatment at General Hospital in Ernakulam and were discharged in the afternoon.
Marad police said there has been no complaint regarding the incident and hence no case has been registered. Police had reached the spot after being informed, but no action was taken as the dog was caught by the locals.
This incident comes just two days after a 60-year old was mauled to death by two Rottweiler dogs at Vythiri in Wayanad. Rajamma, a worker at a coffee plantation, was attacked by the dogs while she was on her way to the workplace. The pet dogs escaped from their cage when the owners had gone to church.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday told the Assembly that the government will seriously consider the possibility of bringing in a legislation to prevent the keeping of dangerous dogs. As per the existing law, a fine is the only punishment for the owners, when pet dogs attack people.
The investigation to trace the owner of the Rottweiler dogs in Vythiri has been intensified, the CM said. “He (owner) has been booked for homicide. It has been found that the he didn’t follow the guidelines as per the law to bring up the dogs,” he added.