By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Six days after a five-year-old girl was attacked by a stray dog while playing outside her house, her parents filed a police complaint.

The girl, a resident of Ashok Nagar, was hospitalised and her parents were busy running from pillar to post to ensure that she received treatment.

On Friday the parents approached the police and filed a case against officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) health department. According to the police, the injured girl has been identified as Anukrupa, a resident of Rose Garden in Neelasandra. On June 22, around 3.50 in the afternoon, Anukrupa was playing with a ball in front of her house along with her elder sister.

A stray dog passing by suddenly attacked her, biting her on the right cheek as well as injuring her left eye, the parents said in the complaint. Fortunately, locals noticed the attack and rushed to the spot, chasing the dog away.

The child’s mother, Chandraleka, who was in the house was alerted and Anukrupa was rushed to a nearby children’s hospital. The doctors however refused to treat her as they didn’t have vaccines.

The parents then took the girl to St. John’s hospital where she was given first aid and asked to visit the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital as they too didn’t have vaccines. The third hospital also cited a lack of vaccines and didn’t treat the girl.

Finally, the parents took her to Victoria hospital and admitted her there. Anukrupa was finally discharged on Friday. “After we brought her home, the neighbours suggested we file a police complaint and we did,” said Chandraleka.

The complaint blames the BBMP officials for being unable to control the stray dog menace. An investigating officer from Ashok Nagar police station said that a complaint had been taken against health wing officials of the BBMP. “We will be serving notice to them shortly for their statement,” the officer said.