In yet another shocking incident of the surging stray dog menace in the country, an 18-month-old toddler died after being mauled by stray dogs in a village of Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Friday.

According to reports, on late Friday evening, the toddler girl, identified as Satvika, was attacked by dogs while she was playing outside a house in Mettavalsa village where her mother worked as a maid.

As per officials, the incident took place in Mettavalsa village, located in the G. Sigadum Mandal area of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh at around 7:45 pm on Friday.

Reports said the toddler’s family rushed her to the Rajam Government Hospital where she received first aid, and later was shifted to Srikakulam Government Hospital for further treatment.

However, the little girl succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, police said, adding that a case has been registered in this regard and further investigation is ongoing.

In a similar incident, a 9-year-old boy was grievously injured after he was mauled by a pack of stray dogs in Karnataka’s Kolar district on Friday.

According to reports, the incident happened during wee hours of Friday morning at around 4 am when the victim, identified as 9-year-old Babu, was on his way for morning prayers at a nearby mosque.

Security camera footage of the disturbing incident, which went viral on social media platforms, showed the minor boy being mauled by a pack of 15-20 stray dogs on the street. The horrific video shows the boy’s body drenched in blood after the vicious mauling by the beasts.

Reports said that Babu, who received wounds on his belly, arms and face and head in the dog attack, was found lying on the street by a police constable, Rajanna, who rushed the boy to a nearby hospital from where he was shifted to RL Jalappa Medical College for advanced treatment.

Last week, a 65-year-old doctor was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs inside the campus of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh.

A teacher working at a private inter-college was arrested for marrying a 17-year-old girl student in Gangavaram Mandal area of Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, official said.

A senior police official said, the accused, identified as 33-year-old Chalapathy, tricked the Class 12 student into marrying him at a temple in Tirupati.

Giving details, Sub-Inspector Sudhakar Reddy of the Andhra Pradesh Police said that Chalapathy—who is already married and has a daughter—took the girl to Tirupati on Wednesday after her final school exams concluded and swayed her with sweet talk, asking the minor to trust him and that he’s honest and will always take care of her.

The officer said the accused married the minor in Tirupati but later, sensing a change in Chalapathy’s behavior, the girl contacted her parents and narrated the entire incident to her parents, who then filed a complaint against the accused at the Gangavaram police station on Thursday night.

Following the complaint by the minor girl’s parents’, an FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, was registered against the accused Chalapathy, the officer said, adding that the accused was arrested and produced before a court.

Further investigation of the case is ongoing, he said.

In a related incident, earlier this month, a primary school teacher in Maharashtra’s Gondia district was arrested for allegedly sexually harassing minor girl students in his class and showing them obscene videos on his mobile phone.

According to an official statement, a complaint filed against the 52-year-old assistant teacher posted at a Zilla Parishad school in Dangorli accused him of inappropriately touching eight Class 5 students and showing them obscene videos in February.

Based on the complaint, the teacher was arrested and a case under section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against him.

A senior police official said that the accused teacher was arrested on March 11 (Saturday), after an inquiry into the incident by the Block Education Officer (BEO).

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister veteran Congress leader Kiran Kumar Reddy has resigned from the party and is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to reports.

According to a March 11 letter—the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh before Telangana was carved out in 2014—addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Reddy has asked for resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress.

Earlier in 2014, Kiran Kumar Reddy had resigned from the Congress to protest the UPA-II’s decision of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh and carve out Telangana. The former CM had formed his own political party, Jai Samaikyandhra Party and fielded candidates in some constituencies in the 2014 elections. However, with no electoral gains, Reddy stayed aloof from politics for a long time and rejoined the Congress in 2018.

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In a sharp reaction to Reddy’s resignation, Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore said those who got everything from the party and finished the Andhra Pradesh Congress are now leaving for greener pastures at the BJP.

Reports quoting sources within the BJP have speculated that former Andhra Pradesh CM is likely to join the BJP’s Telangana unit.

Reddy had reportedly maintained a distance from Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and has been on the outs with the party for a long time.

Pundits say that Reddy could play a vital role in this year’s Telangana elections as he has good ties with several top leaders of Telangana from his time as the chief minster of Andhra Pradesh. Reddy’s deep insight into Telangana politics could play a key role in BJP’s poll campaign in the state.

Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Telangana in December this year, and Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay, in an earlier statement, said that the saffron party will not form any alliances in the state and contest solo in the polo.

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