Jalna, May 6 (PTI) A pack of stray dogs mauled to death a seven-year-old girl in Jalna city of Maharashtra on Tuesday morning, officials said.
Following the incident, which occurred in Gandhi Nagar locality, Jalna Municipal Corporation (JMC) commissioner suspended a sanitary inspector on the charge of "dereliction of duty".
The incident triggered outrage among local residents.
The deceased, Sandhya Patole, was playing in the yard near her house when the dogs attacked her.
Talking about the incident, her uncle Ram Patole said, "The family was already mourning the loss of another relative due to natural causes and gathered at their residence. Amid all this, Sandhya stepped outside and began playing near an open plot when the dogs pounced on her, dragging her for a distance."
"She was brutally attacked on her throat and stomach," he said.
Her father works as a daily wage labourer and she was the eldest of his three children, he said, adding that the grievously injured child was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to her injuries.
MLA Arjun Khotkar visited the grieving family members and consoled them. He also instructed Jalna Municipal Corporation (JMC) to take strict measures to address the growing menace of stray dogs in the city.
The incident has reignited public anger over the repeated inaction of the civic body. In a recent protest, Shiv Sena (UBT), led by its district president Bhaskar Ambekar, staged a morcha at the JMC demanding effective control over the stray dog population.
In response to the tragedy, JMC Commissioner Santosh Khandekar said sanitary inspector Radhashyam Lokhande was suspended for dereliction of duty. He also said that a fresh tender process for dog sterilisation is underway, as the previous contractor abandoned the work mid-way.