A pack of ferocious dogs on Sunday mauled a 12-year-old girl to death in a village here, taking the toll in fatal attacks by feral hounds in the district to 13 in the last six months, police said.
The incident occurred in Maheshpur village under the Khairabad police station. This was the seventh such death this month, they said. District administration officials said the Khairabad area of Sitapur district was the “worst affected”. Some 22 villages of Khairabad block are affected by the dog menace. “A 12-year-old girl, Reena, died on Sunday after being attacked by a pack of dogs,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Anand Kulkarni said. The SP said the administration was tackling the menace and the number of dogs in packs was decreasing.
“Earlier they used to attack in packs of six to eight. Now they are reduced to two or four,” he said.
District Magistrate Sheetal Verma, when contacted, said, “Of the 13 deaths due to dog attacks since November 2017, as many as 10 took place in Khairabad police station area.”
“Three other cases which took place in the district, were reported from Imlia Sultanpur, Kotwali Sitapur and Taalgaon police station areas,” Verma said. As the problem continued unabated, Opposition parties slammed the Yogi Adityanath Government by accusing it of ignoring the serious matter.