In Bargadwa village, Siddharth Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, a 10-year-old girl was mauled to death by a pack of seven stray dogs, the police said, reports IANS. Despite efforts to save her, she succumbed to her injuries on the way to the health centre. 

According to IANS, the minor identified as Tarannum, a Class IV student and the daughter of Abid Ali, was grazing goats with other children when the dogs attacked her, inflicting more than two dozen severe injuries, including to her head.

Village head Vyas Pandey recounted how the other children managed to flee and raise the alarm, following which, villagers reached the spot and rescued Tarannum.

Circle Officer (CO) of Itwa, Jairam, confirmed the incident and said that police officials reached the village and contacted the girl's father to register a case but her parents refused to file a report.

This incident follows an attack on additional sessions judge Jaiprakash by stray dogs while he was out for a morning walk in Gorakhpur on Sunday, February 4, resulting in minor injuries. In response, Municipal Commissioner Gaurav Singh Sogarwal activated a dog-catching squad. 

However, Corporator Zia-ul-Islam said no dogs have been captured yet. He added that due to the fear of stray dogs, even elderly people avoid morning walks and do not come on the streets alone, reports IANS.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner of Gorakhpur, Mani Bhushan Tiwari said that a dog-catching squad has been deployed in response to complaints, leading to the capture, sterilisation, and release of 12 dozen dogs in other areas. 

Furthermore, the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation is in the process of establishing a centre for birth control of dogs through sterilisation. In light of apex court guidelines, the corporation is taking essential action to avoid animal cruelty.

Rajesh Srivastav of District Hospital Gorakhpur confirmed that every day, six dog bite victims come for treatment.