The body of a newborn was seen being dragged around by a dog near the maternity ward of a government hospital in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district on Saturday, officials said on Sunday. The distressing incident has prompted civic authorities to review the menace of stray dogs in the city.
Security guards at McGann district hospital in Shivamogga said they chased away the dog after they noticed it was running around the hospital’s maternity ward carrying what appeared to be a newborn baby in its mouth at around 7am on Saturday, hospital officials said. The child was found dead when it was recovered, officials said, adding that they are examining whether the infant died before the dog bite or as a result of it.
This is not first such incident to have occured in the recent past. Last year, a school child was bitten by a dog inside a housing society elevator in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida. The incident occurred when the child was in the lift for going to this school. The dog bit on his hand. As a result, he sustained injuries and was administered four injections.
In September 2022, a school boy in Ghaziabad was bitten by a dog inside a housing society elevator even as the animal's owner appeared to be a mute spectator, following which the Ghaziabad police registered a case. The incident had happened in Rajnagar Extension's Charms Castle when the boy, with a schoolbag on his shoulder, was bitten by the dog inside the lift of the high-rise residential building. The video of the incident went viral on social media.
The boy's parents had approached Nandigram Police Station where a complaint under IPC section 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animals) of IPC was registered. The incident was caught on a CCTV camera installed inside the elevator of the residential complex. The video shows the boy being attacked by the dog with its leash in the woman's hand.