Senior citizen dies in suspected stray dog attack in Bengaluru

A 68-year-old man was killed in a suspected case of a stray dog attack at Kempegowda Nagar, Kodigehalli, in the wee hours of Monday (July 28, 2025). As the incident occurred around 3.30 a.m., when the roads were deserted and since there is no CCTV camera covering the spot, the police and civic officials are awaiting the autopsy report to conclude it as a stray dog attack case.

The deceased has been identified as Seetappa of Kodigehalli who earned a living by rearing cows and supplying milk in the area.

On Monday, around 3.30 a.m., Seetappa, who was unable to sleep, came out of his house wrapped in a blanket and went for a walk. Less than 200 m away from his house, he was allegedly attacked by a pack of eight to nine stray dogs. He fell and was reportedly lying in a pool of blood when a police night patrol team reached the spot. He was shifted to the Government Hospital at Yelahanka, where he was declared dead.

The son of the deceased, Venkatesh, told The Hindu that a woman living on the first floor of the building adjacent to the place where his father was attacked was woken up by his screams for help and the sound of the dogs. “The woman told us he was attacked by a pack of dogs, and she was helpless. She threw water from the window on the dogs in an attempt to save my father. After this, some dogs apparently ran away. Later, the police took him to the hospital,” he said. “My father was unwell and used to not sleep well at night, and often wandered off. He had a habit of going to a shop nearby to have tea around 5.30 a.m. On Monday, he went out as early as 3.30 a.m., which we did not realise,” he said.

Suralkar Vikas Kishor, Special Commissioner (Animal Husbandry), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, said they were awaiting the autopsy report to confirm whether it was a stray dog attack. “Meanwhile, we have surveyed the area and picked up 16 stray dogs and have kept them under observation to check if any of them have violent behaviour. Our vaccination and animal birth control programme coverage in that area has been good,” he said.

Another senior official said that while there was starvation found among dogs in the area, the man walking alone, wrapped in a blanket on a deserted road as early as 3.30 a.m. may have triggered one dog into attacking him and others may have joined in.