18-month-old boy dies, another injured in street dog attacks in Telangana
Hyderabad, Jul 17: An 18-month-old boy died, while another boy suffered injuries when street dogs attacked them in separate incidents in Telangana, police said on Wednesday.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed anguish over the boy's death in Hyderabad and directed officials to take steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.
The boy died after allegedly being mauled by a pack of stray dogs at Jawahar Nagar in Hyderabad when he came out of his house Tuesday night.
A dog dragged him to some distance and later some strays bit him resulting in injuries, they said.
The boy was initially rushed to a private hospital and from there referred to a state-run hospital where he died last night, a police official at Jawahar Nagar police station said.
Based on a complaint from the boy's parents, a case was registered.
The family hails from Siddipet district and shifted to Jawahar Nagar in Hyderabad two months ago.
The grief-stricken mother of the boy told mediapersons that she had gone out from home to get medicines. The boy, who was playing inside, came out of the house when the pack of dogs attacked him.
The boy did not survive though he was rushed to a hospital, she said.
"Our fate has become like giving away the children to dogs. We used to treat him with a lot of love and attention. We fail to understand how this has happened. It happened in just five-10 minutes. We wanted to go to our village for a festival (Ekadashi). But we are taking him like this," the woman, who was in tears, said.
The number of street dogs in the locality is very high, she said, adding the authorities should take steps to check the menace of dogs so that others do not have to face such tragedies.
Noting that incidents of dog attacks were being reported often, CM Revanth Reddy told officials to establish either a toll free number or a call centre to receive complaints from residents of localities where street dogs' menace is prevalent, an official release said.
He suggested forming a committee of experts comprising veterinary doctors and representatives of animal welfare organisations like Blue Cross to study the reasons for the dog attacks, an official release said.
He also instructed officials to take up vaccination drives to check the canine menace.
Health department officials were asked to ensure that medicines to treat patients of dog bites are available in all urban health centres in Hyderabad and all primary healthcare centres in the state.
In another incident, a seven-year-old boy, who was playing in front of his house Tuesday evening at Mangela village in Jagtial district was attacked by a stray dog, police said.
The boy sustained bleeding injuries and was admitted to a government hospital. The boy was stated to be out of danger.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
