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LUCKNOW: Three kids were mauled to death by stray dogs in Khairabad town of Sitapur district on Tuesday morning. This takes the total number children killed in dog attacks in the region to nine this year.

The three children — aged below 12 — stayed in a cluster of villages where ferocious stray dogs have claimed at least nine kids’ lives till date. However, villagers — who are struggling to fend off the ‘maneating’ dogs on a daily basis — claim the death toll to be 14. Around 6am on Tuesday, Shyamli Nath (11), a resident of Tikari village, had stepped out to relieve herself when she was attacked and killed by stray dogs in the fields. The canines then mauled to death Khalid Ali (12), a native of neighbouring Gurpalia village, when he had gone to collect mangoes from his father’s orchard.

‘We seek help even on spotting dogs’

While Khairabad police and local administration were attending to the two cases, they were informed of a similar death around 9am.

At Kolia village, about 1.5km from Gurpalia, a pack of dogs had killed Komal (8). Her body was also found in a mango orchard.

The stray dog menace has resurfaced in the area after six weeks, said villagers. “We were earlier worried about wild animals like tigers and leopards, but now we seek help even on spotting a pack of dogs. We don’t let children go out alone in the night. Elders in the family take turns to guard villages with lathis,” said Gurpalia resident Ayub Khan , who had lost his six-year-old child in March.

Khairabad SHO Sachin Kumar Singh said, “A joint report was sent to the forest department on March 20, citing the requirement of a combing team. We had also asked the department to take preventive measures. But the combing operation was called off since the canines had retreated.”

DM Sitapur Sheetal Verma wasn’t available for comment. SDM Sitapur Shashank Tripathi said the forest department has cited that it can only deal with wild animals and the dog menace doesn’t come under its purview. The Sitapur municipal corporation also lacks resources to catch dogs, Tripathi added. The forest department, however, agreed to station four personnel along with a private dog catcher from Mathura to curb the dog menace in the 12km stretch in Sitapur.

