Seven-year-old hunted and killed by landlord’s dogs

Hussain died on Tuesday after being hospitalised for 26 days.

FAISALABAD:

A seven-year-old boy was killed by a pack of dogs after a local landlord set the animals loose on the boy three weeks ago.

According to residents in Gojra, Ali Hussain, 7, was passing through a street in village Chak No 423GB and was chased and injured by several dogs.

Locals said that the boy was chased across the street by a pack of dogs that had been set loose on him by two brothers. “The brothers owned the field he was walking through and they had often accused him of pulling out some vegetables for himself,” said Gojra resident Humera.

The dogs attacked Ali Hussain, and seriously wounded him. Hussain was shifted to the Gojra THQ Hospital where he was treated for over 26 days. “,” said Dr Tahir Rabbani. “We gave him rabies vaccines and kept treating him for his wounds but his skin wasn’t healing and the wounds got infected despite our best efforts,” he said.

“He died on Tuesday after a very painful struggle,” he added.

Hussain’s father Muhammad Noor Joya, said that he had been frequenting three different police stations in the district to register the case against land lords, Raheem and Sultan Chaudhery, but the police were unwilling to take the case. “I don’t have much money and I drive a truck to earn a living but that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve justice and no one is filing my case,” he said.

Joya said that his son had been openly murdered by the accused and no one was willing to take action.

“There are five people willing to testify that they saw the men release the dogs on my son but police officials have refused to hear me out,” he said.

Joya, is the sole bread winner for a family of six sons, one daughter and wife. He does not own a house and Hussain was his youngest son.

“I have been trying to get someone to pursue the matter but no one is paying any attention and now my son is dead.

I cannot see his killers roam around freely and I appeal to the Punjab chief minister to pursue this case,” he said. Joya said that the police were refusing to register his case because they had been paid off by the land lords. “They killed my son because he was walking on their land and had once picked a couple of radishes from their fields,” he added.

SHO Gojra Kamran Sahil said that he had not heard of the case and was not informed of the matter. “I did not receive any such case but I will investigate the matter and file a case if it is required,” he said. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2011.