Police to use drones, night vision devices to trap feral dogs
Infuriated locals have killed six dogs in different villages
LUCKNOW: After several efforts to end the canine menace in Sitapur villages failed, the UP police have decided to use drones and night vision devices to track and trap feral dogs there.
Extra police force has also been deployed there to intensify patrolling in villages where dog attacks have become frequent, said director general of police (DGP) OP Singh on Sunday.
Feral dogs have killed six children in the past six days and injured seven others in different villages of Sitapur. Locals, meanwhile, claim that 17 children have been killed since November last year but police put the toll at 12. The frequent dog attacks have increased fear among villagers and they have stopped sending their children to school.
Singh said a survey by police teams suggested that the canine menace existed mainly in around 20 villages under three police stations -- Sitapur Kotwali, Khairabad and Talgaon -- within a 20-km radius in Sitapur district.
The DGP said he and Sitapur superintendent of police (SP) Anand Kulkarni had chalked out a plan to end the dog menace after consulting experts of the National Disaster Management Authority. He said the experts will also be called for help, if required.
“We have formed multiple police teams and equipped them with drones, to cover larger areas, in a bid to trap the feral dogs. Night vision devices will also be used to conduct patrolling during the night,” he said.
The DGP said police station in-charges, as well as other officers of Sitapur, have been asked to sensitise villagers about dog attacks and also appeal to them to not allow their children to move out of their houses alone until the dogs are caught. He said extra police response vehicles of UP 100 have been deployed in the dog menace-hit areas to intensify patrolling and avert any further casualties. Singh added that the Sitapur SP had also been asked to rope in villagers in a bid to make patrolling against dog attacks more effective.
LUCKNOW: A seven-year-old boy, Aman, was attacked by a pack of feral dogs in Ferozpur village of Khairabad area in Sitapur on Sunday afternoon. The incident was the latest in the series of canine attacks that claimed lives of six kids in six days and left this district terrorised, said officials.
The incident occurred when some children were playing in a mango orchard around 3pm. The dogs pulled down Aman while other children escaped and alerted villagers. The boy was rescued by a vendor Bablu who was passing through the orchard at that time, said SK Singh, SO, Khairabad.
The victim was undergoing treatment in Sitapur district hospital where his condition was stated to be critical.
Local residents claimed that 17 children were killed since November last year, but the police put the toll at 12. Moreover, over two dozen people were injured since then.
Villagers were living in fear due to dog attacks and had stopped sending their children to schools.
Former union minister Jitin Prasad, who visited Khairabad villages on Sunday, said the state government and administration failed to ensure safety to children despite back-to-back incidents of dog attacks. He demanded that the government takes stern action against district authorities responsible for it.
Angry villagers in Ferozpur village had already killed six dogs in the past 24 hours. One canine was also killed by people in Bhagautipur village, where a nine-year-old boy was killed in attack by dogs on Saturday afternoon. Bablu said he was alerted after hearing screams of children and immediately rushed towards the spot. “I was aware about canine menace and was carrying a cane which used to attack the dogs. The dogs were initially reluctant but my repetitive attacks forced them to leave the child and flee,” he stated.
The villagers rushed the boy to a local primary health centre from where he was referred to the district hospital.
Expressing gratitude, Aman’s father Uttam said Bablu turned out to be a saviour for his son.
On Saturday, Kasim, 9, was killed by a pack of feral dogs when he was grazing his goats in Bhagautipur village in Talgaon area.
Bhagautipur is nearly 20 km from Mahsinghpur, Budhanpur, Chaubeypur and Peerpur villages where four children aged between 7 and 11 years were attacked by dogs on Friday. Two children Geeta, 7, of Mahsinghpur and Virendra Lodh, 11, of Budhanpur had died in the incident.
Earlier on Tuesday, dogs had killed three children, aged 11 and 12, in separate incidents in Tikaria, Gurpulia and Kholia villages of Sitapur’s Khairabad tehsil.