Srikakulam: The stray dog menace ravaging the two Telugu states assumed grim proportions when a pack of the canines mauled a 10-year-old girl to death in Dallipeta village in Ponduru mandal in the district on Thursday morning. After being inflicted with more than 60 wounds all over her body, the girl, D Spandana, was declared brought dead to the local hospital.
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According to the police, Spandana was on her way to the fields carrying tea for her grandfather around 8 am. The distance from her home to the fields is about half a km, and while she was on her way, she was pounced upon by about 10 stray dogs. Even as a panicked Spandana ran for her life, the dogs chased and began biting her.
Apparently, there was nobody in the vicinity of the attack to come to her rescue. A few minutes after the incident, some youths noticed the girl laying on the road and the dogs roaming close to her. They shooed the dogs away and took her to the local hospital where the doctors declared that the girl was brought dead. According to the doctors, Spandana had more than 60 wounds including teeth marks, bites and scratches.
The victim was studying fifth standard in a government school and father D. Bodesu alias Botaraju and mother Bangaramma are farmers. The girl is survived by a younger sibling.
Even as the villagers were in a state of shock following the gory death of Spandana, Ponduru MPTC P Surya Rao alleged that even after repeated complaints, the village panchayat secretary did not take any action to curb the stray dog menace. According to him, the dogs had till date killed more than 100 sheep, goats and calves and that Spandana was the first human victim.
By the afternoon, Srikakulam collector Lakshmi Narasimham sent animal husbandry joint director Venkateswarlu to the village and probe the incident. Meanwhile, tehsildar Parvateesam told the media that they would set up village committees to control the dog menace in the entire mandal.