Kota: A five-year-old girl suffered serious injuries after a stray dog attacked her near her home in Rajasthan’s Kota on Saturday evening, once again drawing attention to the city’s continuing stray dog problem.
The child, identified as Namra, was playing in a lane outside her house in the Bengali Colony area of Chawani at around 7.15 pm when the animal suddenly pounced on her. The dog bit and mauled her repeatedly, leaving her with deep injuries to her head, back and wrists. She was later taken to a hospital for medical care.
Residents Intervene After Screams
CCTV footage from the locality shows the dog dragging the girl along the street and attacking her as she struggled to escape. Her cries alerted nearby residents, including a woman and a child, who rushed towards the spot along with others. They managed to chase the animal away and rescue the girl.
The attack has unsettled residents, who said stray dog incidents had become a recurring concern in the neighbourhood. They claimed that a sanitation worker had earlier been attacked by a stray dog in the same area and sustained severe injuries to his legs, as reported by The New Indian Express.
Kishan Prajapati, the local representative for Ward 63, reached the location after learning about the incident. He helped arrange the girl’s transfer to hospital and contacted a Kota Municipal Corporation (KMC) team to catch the dog involved in the attack.
Residents have demanded swift and concrete action from the civic authorities to prevent further attacks and address the stray dog population in the area.
Civic Body Explains Action Plan
KMC Commissioner OP Mehra said the corporation was acting on complaints received from residents. “Under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) program, dogs captured upon complaints are taken to the ABC centre for sterilisation and returned to the same locality after 3-4 days, strictly following Supreme Court guidelines,” Commissioner Mehra said.
Kota currently has no permanent shelter for aggressive stray dogs, Mehra said. However, a facility in Banda Dharampura, with space for 600–700 animals, is under construction and is expected to be ready within seven to eight months.
“This facility will permanently house aggressive stray dogs that continue to pose a public threat even after sterilisation,” Mehra said.
