Mumbai: 33-year-old veterinarian gets beaten up for feeding crows

Vet Mansi Mehta; (right) X-Ray showing the skull fracture

Amid rising cases of harassment of animal feeders in the city, a 33-year-old woman veterinary doctor was allegedly beaten up by a mother-son duo over feeding animals and birds on the society premises on Friday. The accused allegedly beat her up with tree branches, leading to skull fracture and other injuries. Agripada police have filed a case and are yet to arrest the accused.

The victim, Mansi Mehta, 33, is a resident of Shanti Nagar at Agripada and has been treating pets at their apartment for over 20 years. After the incident, she was rushed to BYL Nair Hospital. She is currently taking treatment under a private doctor.

The accused - Archana Ramkumar Gupta, 42, and her son Parth Ramkumar Gupta, 19 - have also been residing in the same society for the past two years.

Mansi Mehta was left with torn clothes, injuries, a skull fracture

According to police, the incident took place around 3 pm on Friday when Mehta's mother Neeta was feeding roti to crows. Archana Gupta allegedly objected to her feeding the birds, which led to the altercation.

Mehta told mid-day, "My mother was feeding the crows when Archana Gupta came and started abusing my mother. Her son, Parth, also joined and beat up my mother. I immediately went and pushed them to shield my mother. But they then started beating me. They took some tree branches and hit me on the head twice. Other residents came to help us."

"The doctor at Nair hospital advised me to get an X-Ray done which showed there was a fracture. I am taking treatment from a private doctor," she said.

The vet added, "I am a veterinary doctor and I have been treating animals at my residence and also feeding the stray animals in my area for more than 20 years. The accused family shifted to our society around two years ago and has been harassing us ever since. I have also registered two non-cognisable offences against them for abusing us over feeding animals."

Mehta informed Sneha Visaria, who runs Just Smile Charitable Trust at Fort, about the incident and lodged a police complaint with her help. Visaria told mid-day, "Vet Mansi Mehta informed me that she received injuries on her head and a skull fracture because of feeding animals in the area. I took her and her mother to Agripada police station and registered a complaint. Feeding animals, including birds, is the right of every citizen. It is not a crime. During summer, many birds die due to lack of food and water. We all should give food to them."

Senior Inspector Yogendra Pache said, "We have registered a case against Archana Gupta and her son Parth Gupta for beating up Mehta with tree branches. We have started investigation in the case and are checking CCTV footage from the area. We are yet to make an arrest in the case."