4-year-old Bhiwandi girl, bitten by dog, dies

Thane: Laiba Shaikh, a four-year-old girl from Bhiwandi who was bitten by a dog in July, died late Sunday during treatment at Sion Hospital. The cause of her death has not yet been confirmed, although her family claimed she suffered severe injuries from the dog bite. She was hospitalised in three different government hospitals before passing away.
On July 10, unidentified residents from the Shanti Nagar area in Bhiwandi killed a dog that had bitten several people over the previous two days. According to residents, three dogs, including the one killed, had bitten 135 people across Bhiwandi. The injured include over 30 children aged 4-12, according to officials from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Bhiwandi.
Shanti Nagar residents said the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation’s (BNCMC) dog sterilisation centre has been closed for several years, which led to a rise in the number of strays in the city.
“The dogs attacked children on July 7 and 8 while they were returning home from school,” said Riyaz Shaikh, Laiba’s grandfather. “My granddaughter suffered an injury to her right cheek. The dogs were uncontrollable, and we alerted each other about this particular dog as many of us noticed it attacking people. Unfortunately, my child could not survive the pain from the incident. She was continuously hospitalised, first at Indira Gandhi Government Hospital, then Kalwa Hospital, and finally Sion Hospital. The doctors said the poison had spread throughout her body.”
Bhiwandi East MLA Rais Shaikh called for action against the administrative authorities of the corporation. “I will soon file an FIR in the matter,” he said. A BNCMC official said, “We are investigating the cause of death. It is too early to comment on it.”