Nine injured in separate stray dog attacks

Kottayam/Palakkad: Several people, including a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, were injured in two separate stray dog attacks in Kayamkulam town and Vaniyamkulam near Ottapalam on Wednesday. In the incident that occurred at 9am in Kayamkulam, eight people were injured. Those injured are Nehra Fathima, 14, Faiza Fathima, 14, Naseer, 60, Sarasan, 65, Suresh, 59, Binu, 47, Thenkasi native Mariyan, 52, and migrant worker Shambhu Thakur, 28. The incident happened near Aikya Junction. Among these, Naseer, Shambhu and Mariyan were admitted to Medical College. Sarasan, a scooter rider, was the first to be attacked. The dog then ran through a side lane and attacked Nehra and Faiza, who were on their way to school. The children were saved from further attacks when people who rushed to the scene chased the dog away. The dog bit others while fleeing from the spot. Some people then chased and killed the dog. A subsequent postmortem revealed that the dog was rabid. Meanwhile, a toddler, identified as Ishan of Undiyilpadi, was attacked while walking on the footpath holding his mother’s hand. According to relatives, the mother and child were going to a shop in Vaniyamkulam when the dog, which was lying nearby, suddenly approached from behind and bit the child. Ishan sustained injuries below the waist and was taken to Ottapalam taluk hospital for treatment.