Hyderabad stray dog attack: Telangana HC takes up suo motu hearing

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday, February 22, initiated a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) over the gruesome incident of a four-year-old boy who was attacked and killed by stray dogs in Hyderabad. The High Court took cognisance of a newspaper report on the incident, which occurred in Amberpet on February 19, and took up the case. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan is hearing the PIL on Thursday, February 23.

The court has made Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department Principal Secretary, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner, GHMC Deputy Commissioner (Amberpet), GHMC Veterinary Officer, Hyderabad District Collector and Member Secretary of Telangana State Legal Services Authority as respondents in the PIL.

The child, Pradeep, was apparently carrying a packet containing some food item when the dogs pounced on him and killed him. The incident was caught on CCTV camera and the footage went viral, provoking public outcry. The CCTV footage showed the child walking alone in the parking lot when three dogs came running towards him and surrounded him. After a couple of seconds, when the child tried to run away, one of the dogs attacked him and pinned him down. After falling down, the boy slowly got up and tried to run again. However, the three dogs once again pinned him down, dragged him around and mauled him.

The boy's father, who works as a security guard at a car service centre, had taken him and his six-year-old daughter to his workplace located in the area. The victim suffered serious injuries in the attack and was rushed to the hospital by his father and others where he was declared brought dead, GHMC officials had said.