A 38-year-old woman from Sirsa district succumbed to rabies on Monday, 4 August 2025, 19 days after being bitten by a stray dog while feeding it outside her home. The deceased, Varsha Rani Mehta, was attacked on the night of 17 July 2025 in Bijnuwali village while offering food to the dog.
The dog bit her on the forehead. She received three doses of the anti-rabies vaccine at the Dabwali Civil Hospital but did not receive the critical rabies immunoglobulin injection that should have been administered directly to the wound, according to doctors at AIIMS Bathinda, where she was later shifted in a critical condition. Her husband has alleged medical negligence by the Dabwali hospital.
Varsha began showing classic symptoms of rabies, including hydrophobia and anxiety, on 3 August 2025 and passed away two days later. Prior to her death, the family had also taken her to an Ayurvedic practitioner in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, after her condition worsened despite hospital treatment. The temporary relief she experienced was short-lived as the infection had advanced significantly.
Local residents said the same stray dog had bitten more than two dozen people in the area before it died. They accused authorities of inaction, citing official restrictions on capturing or culling stray animals.
Varsha Rani, wife of Jitendra Kumar alias Vijay Mehta, belonged to a family that runs a wholesale shop at the Dabwali bus stand. Her tragic death has sparked anger among villagers and renewed concerns over the rising stray dog population and inadequate rural healthcare facilities.
(With inputs from Punjab Kesari)
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