chandigarh

Updated: Mar 12, 2020 00:26 IST

A pet pit bull attacked and bit a 25-year-old woman on her right arm and leg in Sector 30, police said on Wednesday.

The dog’s owner, identified as Prem Chand, 50, a businessman, has been booked after the incident, which took place on Tuesday evening.

In November last year, a Mohali court had convicted a woman of being negligent after her pet dog bit her neighbour. The woman, who was staying in a rented accommodation in Phase 10, was awarded six-month jail and fined ₹1,500.

In the present case, Lovely, who belongs to Kapurthala, had to come to the city along with her mother to visit an ailing aunt. She had gone to collect her baggage from her car parked near a neighbourhood park when the dog attacked her around 7:30pm.

“The dog charged from the rear and bit my arm and leg. As I raised the alarm, my mother tried to stop the dog, but it relented only when the owners intervened,” said Lovely. She was rushed to Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, for treatment.

Police said it is not clear whether the dog was on leash when it attacked Lovely. Her family members alleged the same dog bit at least five people in the neighbourhood in the past three months. In a recent case, the dog reportedly bit a 12-year-old girl while she was returning from school.

On the complaint of Lovely’s mother, Renu, a case was registered against Prem Chand under Section 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animal) of the Indian Penal Code. He was arrested, but later released on bail.

Pit bulls were created by crossbreeding bulldogs and terriers to produce a dog that combined the strength of the bulldog with the gameness and agility of the terrier. In the UK, these dogs were used in blood sports such as bull-baiting and bear-baiting. They also constitute the majority of dogs used for illegal dog fighting in the US.

In January this year, a Mundi Kharar resident was arrested after her pet pit bull bit and injured her neighbour. In last January, another man was booked in Mohali after his pit bull bit a neighbour.