Stray dogs on the prowl in the sprawling campus of the prestigious University College for Women at the Residency in Hyderabad went on a biting spree on Monday morning, injuring eight students and a woman employee of the college.

The unusual incident occurred around 10.30 am when the students came to write their degree exams at the college.

A pack of stray dogs pounced on a dozen girls and inflicted multiple bites on eight of them. As the girls ran helter skelter, the canines chased them.

The watch and ward staff of the college rescued the girls and drove away the dogs. The injured students and a woman employee were later shifted to Institute of Preventive Medicine for anti-rabies treatment.

The doctors at the IPM gave them anti-rabies injections and nursed their injuries.

According to a college official, the University College for Women, located in the premises which earlier served as the residence of the British Resident in the pre-Independence days, has a sprawling campus encompassing 50 acres of land and numerous buildings.

The deserted corners of the campus have become breeding grounds for stray dogs even as the college authorities and security staff look the other way.

Soon after the incident, other panic-stricken students lodged their protests. The college authorities declared a holiday for the day and also cancelled the day's examinations.

Some ward and watch staff complained that the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad failed to act on their complaints over the growing menace of stray dogs on the campus.

Anxious parents of the injured girls rushed to the Institute of Preventive Medicine to be with their wards. Doctors said some of the girls suffered multiple bites.