48 hours on, toddler mauled to death by stray dogs in Chandigarh is yet to be buried

Refusing to accept compensation from the civic body, parents of the 18-month-old boy who was mauled to death by stray dogs two days ago reiterated on Tuesday that they won’t allow his postmortem till a case of negligence is registered against municipal officials tasked with curbing canine terror in the city.

Meanwhile, the boy’s body is kept in the mortuary of Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16.

“Just because we are poor, police cannot browbeat us,” said the toddler’s mother, Mamta, after visiting the Sector-19 police station.

Mamta and her husband, Mundar, said they spent more than two hours at the station trying to lodge a complaint, but to no avail.

“The cops are forcing us to get the postmortem conducted,” alleged Mamta.“But I won’t allow it till a case is registered. I don’t want any compensation from the MC.”

The 18-month-old boy, Aayush, was playing with his elder siblings when he was attacked by a pack of four stray dogs at a park in Sector 18. The family lives in a colony in Maloya.

The parents had even met the deputy commissioner on Monday, who reportedly asked them to get a case registered if they wanted any legal action.

‘Someone should be held responsible’

“Our son died because dogs are ruling the roost in Chandigarh. Managing these dogs is the responsibility of the municipal corporation and its officials. My son was just playing in the park when he was killed by dogs. Someone should be held responsible.” said Mamta, who is a domestic help and had gone to work in nearby houses leaving her kids in the park when the incident took place.

Mundar said they have submitted a complaint in writing to police, but no FIR was registered. The parents said they will approach the Punjab and Haryana high court if cops don’t act.

Station house officer(SHO) Davinder Singh confirmed the parents had visited the police station and submitted a complaint. “We haven’t registered any FIR,” he said.

Social activist Avinash Singh Sharma, who is helping the family, said: “No one is ready to listen to this poor family. If the victim were from an affluent family, police would have stepped in and registered a case.”

MC chief seeks report

Meanwhile, MC commissioner KK Yadav sought a report on the incident from Dr MS Kamboj, superintendent, slaughter wing, within two days. He also asked for suggestions from the medical officer of health on fighting dog menace within the limits of Animal Birth Control Rules, 2001.

Instructions have already been issued to the department to identify dogs in packs and keep them in isolation for some time to bring about behavioural changes.