Wanted them to have a better life… all that is gone: Mother of two boys mauled to death by dogs

Anand and Aditya were attacked by dogs, on Friday and Sunday, and died of injuries. Sushma has now left the area for Mahipalpur with Ansh.

Speaking to The Indian Express, she said: “I am still in shock. We have been here for months and lived right next to the jungle. The dogs never hurt anyone. Why have they become this violent? I want strict action… My husband doesn’t live with us and I am the sole breadwinner. My boys were only going to play outside and were close to our house. How could this happen?”

Her relatives, who also live in Ruchi Vihar, alleged that the MCD took no action on their complaints.

Their cousin Sucharita alleged, “The boys were the youngest in the family. Two days back, Anand died after he was attacked by dogs. We kept looking for him but couldn’t find him. Later, we found his body. We were all busy with his last rites when the same happened with Aditya. We are scared and angry. Why didn’t the authorities do something to help us?”

“Aditya was with our cousin, Chandan, when 5-6 dogs attacked him. He was badly injured and died before he could reach the hospital. We want all the dogs to be removed. We have already lost two from our family,” she added.

Locals also alleged that a group of 15-20 dogs, that have been living in the jungle area for years, recently turned “aggressive” towards other animals and residents. Chandan said, “Nobody listened to us. We had demanded action against the dogs. They got hold of Aditya… We were only going to relieve ourselves and didn’t know this would happen.”

The area councillor and MCD PRO did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment. The Mayor could not be contacted.