Gurgaon: A 10-year-old boy was mauled by a pack of stray dogs in the basement of a housing society in Faridabad’s Sector 70 on Tuesday evening.The Class 5 student was riding his bicycle in Mulberry County when the chain slipped off. As he sat down to fix it, five to six stray dogs pounced on him, dragged him to the ground, tore his clothes and inflicted deep bite wounds and scratches on his head, back, hands, legs and thigh. He was rushed to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and received multiple stitches for his injuries.The incident has triggered panic and outrage among residents, who claimed 35-40 stray dogs roam inside the society premises. “This is not the first attack. Just three months ago, another child was injured in a similar incident,” the child’s father Dhirendra Singh said.Residents alleged some people in the society regularly feed stray dogs in common areas, including basements and parks, which they claimed has made the animals more aggressive.Following the attack, Singh said, a resident resumed feeding dogs at night, triggering a dispute with his wife. Both sides subsequently filed police complaints.“We have repeatedly requested them not to feed the dogs inside residential areas, but no one listens,” one of the residents added.Residents have resorted to night patrols with sticks to fend off stray dogs, blaming administrative inaction. “We are forced to protect our own children. The security guards are helpless,” said Rakesh Kumar, a resident.Municipal data shows Faridabad has over 18,000 stray dogs, but a single sterilisation agency processes just 25-30 animals daily. Badshah Khan Civil Hospital reports over 100 dog-bite cases daily, while citywide cases are estimated to exceed 300 per day.In May, a five-year-old girl was severely injured after being mauled by a pack of stray dogs as she was playing outside her residence in the Suraj Kund area. A neighbour has been booked for keeping the dogs in an unauthorised shelter inside her residential compound.In Feb 2025, the civic body’s medical officer (health) issued an advisory on the prevention of cruelty to animals and compliance with the ABC Rules, 2023. It said RWAs or local body representatives were responsible for feeding and caring for community dogs within their premises, including designating feeding spots. It added that feeding hours should not coincide with the peak movement time of children and senior citizens.Last Aug, Supreme Court had directed municipal bodies across the country to create dedicated feeding zones in each ward. The court noted that unregulated street feeding often led to untoward incidents and inconvenience to residents. It made it clear that feeding must take place only at identified locations, with signboards installed to inform the public. Subsequently, Gurgaon corporation directed all RWAs, AOAs and local body representatives to designate feeding points for stray dogs within their areas away from main entrances, children’s play areas and high pedestrian movement areas to avoid safety concerns.
