An 11-year-old boy was killed in an attack by stray dogs near Muzhappilangad beach in Kerala’s Kannur district on June 11, Sunday. Around 5 pm on Sunday, Nihal Naushad, a child who had developmental disabilities and a speech disorder, went missing from his house. A search was conducted by local residents and the police, and they found him around 8 pm, around 300 meters away from his house. Police said that Nihal was found unconscious near Kittinakam Mosque. Though he was rushed to a hospital, Nihal succumbed to injuries.
According to the police, the boy had suffered multiple injuries on his body. However, they said that further details can be ascertained only after viewing the postmortem report. The police inquest report suggests that more than one dog might have attacked the boy. He had severe injuries in his legs, neck, and face. Nihal's funeral will be held on Monday evening.
Different organisations including the Keralal Youth Congress and Welfare Party have held protest marches to Muzhappilangad panchayat office over Nihal’s death, questioning the failure of animal birth control programmes.
Accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his government of indifference, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said that the Opposition has been raising the grave issue since long but it was not addressed. "The Vijayan government is responsible for the death of Nihal Naushad. We had raised this grave issue on the floor of the Assembly for which we were ridiculed. All the assurances given by the government and the various state ministers on this issue was nothing but rhetoric. Last year, a similar incident had taken place at the same area where Nihal was mauled last night," said Satheesan.
In 2022, a 12-year-old girl who suffered dog bites died of rabies even after taking vaccinations in Ranni town of Pathanamthitta district. As per government data, in 2022, a total of 21 deaths were reported in the first eight months alone. There were 32 rabies deaths in Kerala between 2021 and 2022. Among them, 11 victims had taken rabies vaccinations fully or partially. As per nationwide figures for 2021, Kerala stood fourth in the country in dog bite cases.
"In many places, people are scared to move out of their homes. This situation has risen because of the callousness of the Vijayan administration and the lack of coordination between various departments. They have failed to tackle the waste and garbage, which are the resting places of stray dogs. It's been three years since the dogs' sterilisation programme has come to a halt. The much-lauded ABC (animal birth control) programme has failed to take off and barring rhetoric, no action has taken place and hence the 11-year-old lost his life," said Satheesan.
On Monday morning, Nihal’s body which bore numerous bite injuries, was sent for autopsy. The family is now waiting for the arrival of the boy's father who works in the Middle East.
With IANS inputs