Dog-bite victim’s mother moves High Court

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 22

Less than a week after and 18-month-old fell prey to a pack of stray dogs at a public park in Sector 18, his mother Mamta on Friday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the police “inaction”. Taking up her plea, the vacation Bench of Justice Rajbir Sehrawat put the Chandigarh Administration, the Municipal Commissioner, the Mayor, the Senior Superintendent of Police and other respondents on notice.

Justice Sehrawat also fixed July 4 as the next date of hearing in the case. In her petition filed through counsel Anil Pal Singh Shergill, Mamta was seeking the issuance of directions to the Station House Officer of the Sector 19 police station to show cause how and why he intentionally failed to register an FIR when a clear-cut case was made out against all officers concerned of the Municipal Corporation and other persons responsible for the maintenance of security in public parks.

Shergill claimed that the UT Senior Superintendent of Police, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (East) and the SHO completely ignored the principles of law laid down by the Supreme Court with regard to the legal process for the registration of an FIR.

Full of praise for the UT Administration through its Deputy Commissioner for showing empathy by sanctioning Rs 1 lakh from the relief fund, Shergill submitted that MC officials, on the other hand, failed to address the problem even though the High Court a year ago had directed them to take necessary steps to protect human life, specially that of children.

Shergill also called for issuance of directions for imposition of a suitable fine on police officials for not registering the FIR and on all “guilty corrupt” officials of the MC for their failure to control the stray dog menace personally.

Shergill added that the directions were also required to be issued to the Chandigarh Police to register cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act against “all guilty officials”, who deliberately and knowingly violated the clear-cut provision in the animal birth control rules evident from the fact that till date not even a single stray dog had been tagged by the officials concerned.