‘Admn has no plan or strategy to check attacks on children’

LUCKNOW: Some animal and child right activists went to Khairabad for a day to carry out investigations into the killing of 12 kids by animals resembling dogs. Animal rights activist Vivek Sharma claimed that the district administration of Sitapur was not able to anticipate the magnitude of the problem since the first attack. The district magistrate failed to evaluate the situation and take measures to stop attacks on kids.

He said there was no post mortem examination of the children killed earlier last year.

“There has also been no post mortem examination of dogs killed in retaliation. No compensation has been given to villagers who lost their kids. There have been repeated violations of animal and child rights . As per local sources, the district administration hired dog catching or killing teams which pushed up the number of dogs killed but did not stop attacks on children,” he said.

He claimed that close to 80 community dogs were tracked and killed, in violation of Section 11 of the Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals Act 1960.

Sharma said , “Villagers are unable to clearly differentiate between wild dogs, hyenas, wolves and jackals. In such a situation, the administration shirked its responsibility to clearly collect information about the attacking animal.”

Sharma said that immediate steps must be taken to evolve a child protection mechanism in Sitapur and develop a plan to ensure safety of kids in the villages .

Child welfare committees, district protection units and special juvenile police units must be involved in child protection.

Child rights activist Anjali Singh said, “The district administration has no plan or strategy to prevent the death of kids. As per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection Of Children) Act 2015, it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure safety of children.”