80-year-old man found dead with dog bites in Arumbakkam

CHENNAI: An 80-year-old bedridden man was allegedly mauled to death by stray dogs in Arumbakkam on Tuesday. The deceased, identified as A Subramani, was alone at home and confined to his bed when two strays attacked him, police said, saying they are investigating the wounds on his body to ascertain they were dog bites and they caused his death or whether he died a natural death.

According to police, Subramani was unmarried and had been living in a makeshift tenement in the compound of the house that belonged to his brother’s son on Vasuki Street for the past five decades, and had been bedridden due to age-related ailments.

On Tuesday evening, his brother Lakshmanan (77) and wife Manimekalai visited him and left after a while. About an hour later, their neighbour Rani came to check on Subramani and found him struggling to breathe, and he asked for hot water. When she returned with water after 15 minutes, she found two stray dogs biting Subramani. She chased them away and alerted his family members. Subramani was rushed to a hospital where he was declared as brought dead. “The cause of death can be ascertained only after we get his postmortem report,” said a police officer. Police said that a couple of stray dogs lived in the compound where Subramani lived.