Bhopal, May 11 (PTI) A six-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in the city, police said on Saturday.
The incident took place on Friday evening in Shiv Sangam Nagar, police said.
"Six stray dogs attacked the boy, Sanju Jatav, when he was playing on a ground near his house. His mother, who was nearby, raised an alarm and tried to shoo away the dogs. But the canines attacked her as well," Awadhpuri police inspector M L Bhati said.
Sanju, who bled profusely as a result of the attack, was rushed to a hospital. However, he died on the way, he said.
Local residents blamed the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the stray dog menace.
Bhati said they have contacted the BMC officials, who have launched a drive against stray dogs on a large scale.
In February 2018, eight stray dogs had mauled to death an 18-month child in Gautam Nagar area in the city. The child had been bitten over 200 times.
After Friday's incident, Congress corporator Yogendra Chauhan said despite repeated complaints about the stray dog menace, the civic authorities were not doing enough.
He alleged that corruption in the implementation of sterilisation of stray dogs was responsible for such incidents.
When contacted, Municipal Commissioner B Vijay Dutta said lack of infrastructure was posing difficulties in curbing the menace.
"We are going to upgrade the infrastructure, but this exercise takes time. Budgetary allocations have been enhanced to enhance the infrastructure. We are working on improving the network of dog shelters," he said.
"During our attempts of controlling the population of stray dogs, we face objections from animal activists," he added.
