Mamoon was playing merely 10 metres away from their house but wandered away to a forest area nearby, his parents say.
She wanted her son to get an education and rise above their humble means, but Tabasum's dreams were dashed on Tuesday when seven-year-old Mamoon was attacked and killed by a pack of dogs near their home in south Delhi.
A student of class three, Mamoon had gone to play just around their home in the slums of Gaffar Manzil in south Delhi when he tripped and fell, Tabasum said.
This gave a pack of street dogs the chance to pounce on him. Even though he tried to run away but he was chased down and pulled into a pit, says six-year-old Usman, an eyewitness.
Mamoon's father, a rickshaw puller and mother Tabasum, a domestic worker, say he was playing merely 10 metres from their house but later wandered away to a forest area nearby.
"I never imagined he would be bitten by dogs, he was my third-born and I had big dreams of him pursuing his education," says Tabasum.
When they were informed about the incident by Mamoon's friend, they rushed to the spot and took him to Holy Family hospital . But the child was declared brought dead.
Usha Rani, a local resident says these attacks are a routine in the area especially because people have to go into this forest area to relieve themselves as there is no provision of toilets in their house.
A day after the attack, the municipal corporation undertook a canine-control-drive and rounded up nearly 40 dogs from the area for sterilisation. Officials said they have sterilised over 92,000 street dogs in the last three years across Delhi.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it was concerned over the stray dog menace in the city. The court directed the civic authorities to submit a detailed status report on how the rules for controlling the stray dog population were being implemented by them.