Death of speech-impaired boy due to dog bite injuries: Child rights body to approach Supreme Court seeking permission to kill aggressive stray dogs

On June 11, 2023, a group of stray dogs attacked Nihal, an 11-year-old speech-impaired boy, who was found with severe dog bite injuries at Muzhappilangad near Kannur in Kerala. Though he was found and rushed to the nearest hospital, his life could not be saved. Nihal was found in a pool of blood near a deserted house on Sunday at around 8:30 pm. The boy was attacked unwarrantedly by the aggressive stray dogs. It was clearly visible through the CCTV footage that Nihal was passing through the street without teasing the dogs. The boy was rescued by a passerby who hushed away the pack of stray dogs. 

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) took cognizance of the death and said to move to the Supreme Court seeking permission to kill aggressive stray dogs. The Chairman of the Kerala child rights body, KV Manoj Kumar, called the incident ‘tragic and heart-wrenching’. He further noted that “Our aim is to protect the children, not dogs. It’s the children and the public that should be protected.” Also, he added that “The Commission will do its best to do what it can within jurisdiction. Currently, a case has been registered. Three more cases related to children being attacked by dogs are before the commission.”

Along with this, the district’s panchayat president, PP Divya, mentioned that they started the Animal Birth Control programme in 2017. She added, “Although the programme was hampered during the COVID break, we set up a new centre in Kannur for ABC with all the facilities. According to the survey report, Kannur has 29,000 stray dogs, and killing them in mass numbers at a go is impossible.” She also mentioned that “We had therefore earlier approached the Supreme Court seeking permission for canicides as the most number of attacks were reported in Kannur. However, the top court did not give its nod. Now what we have understood is people have to be alert in the vicinity. We also contemplate and worry that any action will have to be taken by violating the laws.” 

During the hearing, it was determined that the Kerala State Human Rights Commission was also involved in such cases. A detailed report regarding both matters is to be submitted within two weeks from the Secretary of the district panchayat, the SHO of Edakkad police, and the Secretary of Local Self Government.