A three-year-old girl died after a stray dog attacked her while she was playing in the courtyard of her home in Palsodi village of Ratlam district, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday evening, officials and local reports said. The child suffered deep wounds to her head and back.

Source: PTI via Saptashwa TV

The attack took place at around 5 pm, according to The Times of India. A stray dog entered the courtyard, where a cow was also tied, and attacked the girl, repeatedly biting and scratching her; the dog also attacked the cow. Women from neighbouring houses rushed to the spot on hearing the child's screams and drove the dog away.

Source: The Times of India

Relatives and neighbours took the child to the Ratlam district hospital at around 5.45 pm, where doctors declared her dead. District hospital doctor Jeevan Chauhan told PTI that the child had suffered deep wounds to her head and back and could not be saved. Her body was sent to Ratlam Medical College for a postmortem examination, which was expected on Friday morning, and DIG Nimish Agarwal confirmed she was declared dead at the hospital, The Times of India reported.

Source: PTI via Saptashwa TV

What is solid

  • A three-year-old girl was attacked by a stray dog in the courtyard of her home in Palsodi village, Ratlam district, on Thursday evening and suffered deep wounds to her head and back (PTI; The Times of India).
  • She was taken to Ratlam district hospital, where doctors declared her dead, and her body was sent to Ratlam Medical College for postmortem (PTI; The Times of India).
  • The child was staying with her grandparents, who were working in the fields at the time; her parents work as labourers in Ajmer, Rajasthan, and were informed of the incident (PTI; The Times of India).

What is only claimed

  • Family members said the child died on the way to hospital, while officials said she was declared dead after examination at the district hospital; the postmortem report had not been made public at the time of reporting (The Times of India).

The child had been staying with her grandparents in the village for about a month while her parents worked in Ajmer. Her grandparents were in the agricultural fields when the attack happened, and her parents were expected to reach the village by Friday morning, according to the reports.

The death has renewed local concern about stray dogs entering residential areas in rural Madhya Pradesh. No official statement on action against stray animals in the village had been reported at the time of publication.