Rottweilers maul 5-yr-old girl at Chennai park; owner held

CHENNAI: A five-year-old child suffered grievous injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital after two Rottweiler dogs mauled her at a corporation park in Nungambakkam on Sunday night. Thousand Lights Police booked three members of the family who owned the dog and arrested them.

The arrested — S Pugazhendhi (63); his wife, P Dhanalakshmi (59); and their son, P Venkateswaran (30) — were later let out on bail.

The injured child was identified as R Suraksha, daughter of a security guard and gardener at the corporation park, Raghu. Police said Raghu stayed in a room in the park along with his wife, Soniya and daughter.

Around 7.30 pm on Sunday, the child was playing in the park when the two pet dogs which were said to be not on leash attacked the child and severely injured her. Police said the girl’s mother who tried to save the child from the attack was also bitten by the dogs.

Investigations revealed that the two dogs belonged to S Pugazhendhi (63) who lives opposite the park on 4th lane, Nungambakkam High Road. The dogs were not leashed and when the house gates were opened, they ran into the park and attacked the child.

“I was in my native Villupuram when the incident happened. My daughter is in a very critical condition. I have not even seen her in the hospital yet,” the girl’s father Raghu told mediapersons and thanked a neighbour, Madhan who saved the child.

“I was in my room when I heard the screams. I managed to pull out the child from the dogs after they attacked her for a good ten minutes at least. The owners were not able to control the dog,” said Madhan.

The girl was first moved to the Government Royapettah Hospital and later shifted to a private hospital. Police said the girl suffered grievous injuries on her face, head and torso and is likely to undergo surgery on Thursday.

I was in my room when I heard the screams. I managed to pull out the child from dogs after they attacked her for a good 10 minutes

— Madhan, neighbour who saved the child