An 18-month-old boy died after allegedly being mauled by a pack of stray dogs in Jawahar Nagar near here, police said on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy expressed anguish over the boy's death and directed officials to take steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.

The incident took place on Tuesday night when the child came out of his house. A dog dragged him to some distance and later some strays bit him resulting in injuries, they said.

The boy was initially rushed to a private hospital and from there referred to a state-run hospital where he died last night, a police official at Jawahar Nagar police station said.

Based on a complaint from the boy's parents a case was registered.

The family hails from Siddipet district and is said to have shifted to Jawahar Nagar two months ago.

Noting that incidents of dog attacks are being reported often, the CM told officials to establish either a toll free number or a call centre to receive complaints from residents of localities where street dogs is a menace.

In a meeting, he suggested forming a committee of experts comprising veterinary doctors and representatives of animal welfare organizations like Blue Cross to study the reasons for the dog attacks, an official release said.

He also instructed officials to take up vaccination drive to check the canine menace.

The health department officials were asked to ensure that medicines to treat patients of dog bites are available in all urban health centres in Hyderabad and all primary healthcare centres in the state.

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