As many as 12 students and two teachers of Navodaya School were on Tuesday injured in an attack by a stray dog in Bagalur village, where a pack had mauled a toddler to death on Wednesday last.
Residents said the dog entered the school and attacked the students and teachers. They claimed that besides Tejaswi, Shirisha and Subhash, all students, 10 others too were attacked by the canine.
The students were taken to the government hospital soon after the incident.
Incidentally, urban development minister Suresh Kumar held a meeting with the BBMP mayor, commissioner and other officials of the civic body to discuss the stray dog menace after the January 12 incident in which 18-month-old Prashanto had lost his life.
The latest canine attack came even before the government could act.
The school principal, Navneeth Raj, said the dog attacked three girl students around 6.30 am. It bit others later in the day. The students suffered minor injuries in the incident, he added.
A resident, Kumar, said people were scared of walking on the streets during the night due to the attacks by stray dogs. “It is very difficult for schoolchildren to attend school due to the stray dogs. The gram panchayat should take action to end the menace,” he said.
According to BBMP officials, it was a stray puppy that had created panic in the school premises. The local residents killed it later.
“The puppy has bitten and scratched 12 students and two teachers of the Navodaya School. Initial reports said that the puppy was not rabid, which could be confirmed only after an autopsy,” an official said.
The joint director of BBMP’s animal husbandry wing, Dr Pervez Ahmad Piran, said Bagalur was outside the palike’s jurisdiction. “We will conduct a sterilisation programme there on humanitarian grounds at the cost of gram panchayat,” he said.
b_lakshmikantha@dnaindia.net
