A six-year-old boy was mauled to death by stray dogs in Pune’s Hinjawadi area on Sunday, Pune Mirror reported. Sahil Ansari had gone outdoors in Mohite Nagar to relieve himself when a pack of dogs attacked him.

Ansari was rushed to a Primary Health Centre nearby, but his condition deteriorated as there was no anti-rabies serum or medical staff available. The boy was then taken to the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, but he died during treatment.

“Sahil went out around 6.30 am and was suddenly attacked by a group of four or five stray dogs,” Ansari’s father Bhuttu Ansari told the Pune Mirror. He said that the centre’s staff administered some medicines but the boy’s bleeding did not stop. Bhuttu Ansari alleged that the staff did not even cover his son’s wounds.

The child’s father said there was no ambulance immediately available to take the boy to another hospital, and one arrived more than an hour later. “But the delay in the treatment and the excessive bleeding caused his death,” he added.

Dr Balaji Ladke, medical officer at the Primary Health Centre in Maan area, admitted that the facility did not possess anti-rabies serum. He said that there were no doctors available at the unit as they were away attending a delivery.

“The condition of the boy was critical and he had several injuries,” said Dr Manoj Deshmukh, superintendent at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital. “The autopsy showed the cause of the death as hemorrhagic shock due to injuries sustained.”

Maan Village Development Officer Bharat Patil said the area’s officials had written to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation a few months ago about the rising number of stray dogs in the area, but received a reply saying that there was no mechanism available to address the problem.

Hinjawadi Police Station Inspector Arun Vaykar said the police had registered a case of accidental death and started an inquiry based on the information the family provided.