Purnia/ Patna: A seven-year-old girl was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in Bihar’s Purnia district on Saturday, in a harrowing incident that has left the local community in shock. The attack took place in Navtoliya village under Mohanpur police station limits when the child was returning home from the fields.
The victim, Rupa Kumari, had accompanied her mother to the fields near the banks of the Kari Kosi river. According to the family, the child insisted on returning home and left alone while her mother continued to work. On her way back, she was reportedly attacked by a group of stray dogs that inflicted serious injuries.
The girl’s mother discovered her unconscious and severely wounded, surrounded by the animals. Despite efforts to rush her to the local referral hospital in Rupauli, the child died en route.
“Rupa was our youngest child and the apple of the family’s eye,” a relative said. “We had no idea the threat from these dogs had become so grave.”
Police officials confirmed the incident. Mohanpur police station in-charge Amit Kumar said the family had refused a postmortem examination. “The villagers had informed us of the incident. We reached the hospital and questioned the family, who confirmed the child had been attacked by stray dogs. A formal investigation is underway,” he added.
Local residents say stray dog attacks have been an ongoing concern in the area. Saturday’s tragedy has heightened fears and drawn renewed attention to the lack of animal control measures in rural parts of the district.
