Autopsy confirms dog bite as cause of woman’s death

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, February 9

The post-mortem report of Ram Pari, a resident of Passan Kadim village, has confirmed dog bite as the cause of her death.

Panel members visit village

Sultanpur Lodhi SDM, DSP and BDPO, members of the five-member committee formed by the Deputy Commissioner on Thursday, also visited the village on Friday. While the administration has assured the shifting of stray dogs from the area to a rescue centre within a day or two, the villagers have expressed relief in the matter.

Recent incidents

• A woman, Ram Pari, was mauled to death by a pack of 15 dogs on February 6.
• A man and a cow were attacked by stray dogs on February 8. The man was rescued by villagers.
• A woman, Pinki Devi, was attacked by a pack of stray dogs on January 28. She suffered injuries in her limbs and shoulders.
• A seven-year-old boy from Jhanduwal village was mauled to death by stray dogs a week before the January 28 incident.
• A 12-year-old child from Busowal village was also attacked by stray dogs a few days before the Jhanduwal incident.

Villagers donate ration to family

Villagers from Passan Kadim, Chuhrpur, Jhanduwal, Nabipur, Doda Wajid, Chuladdha, Lomriwal and Baupur villages chipped in with a monetary help of Rs 10,000 for Kewal Thakur, Ram Pari’s husband, to carry out the last rites of his wife on Thursday. They also donated ration to the family to sustain them after the incident.

Ram Pari died on Tuesday night after she was bitten by a pack of 15 stray dogs at the village in Kapurthala district.

Meanwhile, the Kapurthala police have also increased surveillance in the affected villages in wake of the recent dog bite incidents.

Notably, recent dog bite cases in the area were reported from migrant and farm labourer families. Ram Pari, a Darbhanga native, was a resident of Passan Kadim village, while Pinki Devi, a resident of Chuhrpur, who was attacked by dogs on January 28 this year, also hailed from Bihar.

A seven-year-old child who died due to attack by stray dogs hailed from a migrant labour (Bihari) family at Jhanduwal village. A 12-year-old child from Busowal village was also attacked by dogs.

The Jhanduwal family immersed the remains of their seven-year-old son in the local river and moved back to Bihar. Meanwhile, Pinki Devi, who still can’t walk due to dog bite injuries, was discharged from the hospital yesterday.

From ensuring monetary help to conducting the last rites of Ram Pari and facilitating the treatment of Pinki Devi, local farmers and landlords have contributed to support the migrant population.

Villagers from Passan Kadim, Chuhrpur, Jhanduwal, Nabipur, Doda Wajid, Chuladdha, Lomriwal and Baupur villages chipped in with a monetary help of Rs 10,000 for Kewal Thakur, Ram Pari’s husband, to carry out the last rites of his wife yesterday. They also donated ration to the family to sustain them after the incident.

Meanwhile, a Chuhrpur villager has also been extending help to Pinki Devi’s family for treatment and also brought her back from the village yesterday after she was discharged.

Meanwhile, Sultanpur Lodhi SDM, DSP and BDPO, members of the five-member committee formed by the Deputy Commissioner on Thursday, also visited the village on Friday. While the administration has assured the shifting of stray dogs from the area to a rescue centre within a day or two, the villagers have expressed relief in the matter.

Baljinder Singh, a resident of Chuhrpur, said, “Farm labourers have spent years working for us. So the villagers deem it a duty to support them. There is a unity in our villages on this. Villagers have also been trying to arrange monetary help for Kewal Thakur through the market committee, but it is a slightly longer process. The frequency of the incident had the villages on edge but the administration has lent prompt support and we have been assured today too that the dogs will be picked up in a day or two.”

Sultanpur Lodhi DSP Babbandeep Singh said: “We visited the village today. The police have increased vigil in the area in view of the dog bite cases and to ensure the safety of villagers. The post-mortem report of Ram Pari has confirmed dog bite as the cause of her death.”