Mob of 100 furious locals kills rabid dog

Here's news that will outrage animal lovers. A crowd of around 100 furious Ulhasnagar residents killed a stray dog on Friday after officials of the fire brigade, police force and other local leaders ignored their plea to treat the canine, which had bitten at least 20 locals including school-going children, as well as several stray animals in their area.

Bitten: Akshay Wagh (12) and Payal Pawar (10) show the injuries they received from the infected dog.u00a0Pics/Navneet Barhate

On Friday morning around 7 am, chaos spread in the Subhash Tekdi area in Ulhasnagar-4 when a rabid dog started biting locals and stray animals. This happened when residents of the area stepped out of their homes to go to work or school. The dog bit five minor students, a duck and a cat.

Residents immediately informed the fire brigade, dialled the police emergency number and reached out to local leaders to seek help, but no action was taken. By this time, the dog had bitten over 20 persons, claimed locals.

"The dog had created terror in the area. He tried to bite me as well. I ran away and saved myself," said Ankush Salve, a local.

"We called several authorities, including the fire brigade. All of them refused to help us. Even the fire brigade officers came to the spot and did nothing, saying they didn't have the equipment to catch dogs. Finally, the residents killed the dog," said Kunal Wagh, an eyewitness to the incident.

According to Wagh, the residents have already written to the municipal body about the menace of stray dogs in the area. There are more than three stray dogs that were bitten by the rabid dog. The residents have decided to undertake a morcha to the municipality office today.

Retaliation
The angry residents attacked the dog with lathis and stones till it died. They then dumped it on the road and fled.

The victims - minors Sara Jadhav, Payal Pawar, Akshay Wagh, Charushila Chandanshive and others like Digambar Tayade, Ravi Jadhav, Sushma Jadhav, Anil Gaikwad and Saurabh Wankhede - were treated in private hospitals, as civic-run hospitals do not have anti-rabies medication.

"It is true that the dog bit five minors. I was out on my morning walk and reached the spot. I informed municipality officials. As per the rule laid out by the central government, no one can kill street dogs. I was trying to save the dog, but the public went mad," said Vijay Tayade, a local councillor.

"This is a shocking incident. I remember that the corporation provided medicines for rat and dog bites to civic hospitals. I will inquire into the matter," said Yuvraj Bhadane, assistant municipal commissioner of Ulhasnagar. u00a0