GUJRAT: In a shocking incident, a two-year-old gypsy child died after being mauled by a pack of stray dogs at Gujrat railway station on Saturday night.

The toddler, Qasim Ali, was reportedly attacked by dogs while playing near the railway station platform when his mother went to fill a water can from a tap.

On hearing the child’s cries, the mother rushed back, but by then he was already injured critically.

He was rushed to the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH) where he later succumbed to the dog bite injuries.

Following the incident, scores of area people gathered at the scene and lodged a strong protest against Gujrat Municipal Corporation (MC) for failing to eliminate stray dogs.

The child and his mother had been residing in a tent at railway station’s old passengers lounge. His mother had been living with her parents after a domestic dispute with her husband, a resident of Jhelum district.

The child was laid to rest in a local graveyard on Sunday after funeral that was also attended by the officials of district administration.

Taking notice of the incident, Gujrat Deputy Commissioner Safdar Virk suspended the MC sanitary supervisor of the concerned union council.

The DC also visited the deceased child’s family on Sunday to offer condolences to them. He said the Punjab government had constituted an inquiry committee under him to probe the incident and fix the responsibility. He said that at least 1,363 stray dogs had been destroyed in the city during the last four months.

Meanwhile, MC Chief Officer Khalid Daad Gara claimed that at least 4 four teams had been formed to eliminate stray dogs in the city limits.

Published in Dawn, October 21th, 2024