Berhampur: Panic struck villagers after a stray dog, suspected to be rapid, went on a biting spree attacking at least 12 people in Dharakote area of Odisha's Ganjam district today. All the victims who were bitten are in Aska hospital to get vaccinated. The incident occured in three villages - Kusaraba, Bariguda and Laxmipur - all within Dharakote police limits, early in the morning.

While seven persons sustained dog bite injury in Kusaraba village, four were hurt in Bariguda and one in Laxmipur. All of them had lacerated wounds on multiple places in the body. 

As per reports, the dog first attacked villagers in Kusaraba. The canine then strayed into the neighbouring villages after being chased away.

"I was walking on the road when suddenly the dog rushed towards me and bit my hand. I tried to push it away but it kept attacking me," recounted an elderly man, one of the victims. 

"The dog lunged at me and kept biting me until I could restrain the animal. I was literally mauled and have deep bite wounds on the chest," said another youth. 

"I was attacked by the dog suddenly when I was walking in a narrow street. It was so traumatising that I am still processing the unexpected turn of events today," shared another victim. 

Meanwhile, terrorised residents of the three villages asked Forest department personnel to capture the stray dog. They also urged strict measures to prevent dog bite attacks. The canine had still not been captured until reports last came in. 

A few days back, two persons including a national-level para-athlete died after being bitten by a rabid dog in Balangir district. Athlete Jogendra Chhatria (33) and Hrushikesh Rana (48) died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. The dog had reportedly gone on a biting spree and attacked six people including Chhatria, Rana and some students heading towards school. 

In 2024, over 37 lakh dog bite cases and 54 suspected human rabies deaths were recorded in India. The data was shared by Union Minister SP Singh Baghel in the Parliament