Stray dog beaten to death in Jogeshwari West, Mumbai Police book duo

Two unidentified men allegedly beat a stray dog to death and dumped its body into a drain near Ajit Glass Garden in Jogeshwari West on Saturday The Oshiwara police have registered an FIR and launched a manhunt to trace the accusedAccording to the police the incident occurred around 415 pm when the duo allegedly assaulted a brown stray dog with bamboo sticks before throwing the grievously injured animal into a drain nearby The dog reportedly stopped moving shortly afterLocal residents alerted by the commotion reached the spot and rushed the dog to a nearby veterinary clinic but doctors declared it dead during examination Subsequently a complaint was filed by Kumari Gunjan Shankar Ram Jaiswal 18 a resident of the area Gunjan told the police that she and her sister Lali witnessed the brutal assault ldquoOne man was wearing a black Tshirt and the other a white shirt They repeatedly struck the dog with bamboo sticks The dog was badly injured before they threw it into the drainrdquo Gunjan statedGunjan told police that while she does not know the accused by name she can identify them She has demanded strict legal action against the two menThe statement was recorded at Oshiwara police station and verified by Assistant Police Inspector Dharmaji Dokhare The police confirmed that a case has been registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS and further investigation is underwayAccording to locals the dog was gentlenatured and posed no threat The alleged motive behind the killing was that the dog ldquobarkedrdquo and disturbed a few residents Witnesses claimed that the accused attacked the dog while it was sleeping striking its head repeatedly with sticks until it diedThe incident also drew the attention of animal welfare activists On the same day Preeti Kubal an animal activist associated with PAL Welfare Foundation and Stray Happy Animal Foundation received a distress call regarding the killing of a community dog barely a year oldKubal rushed to the spot along with activist Sameer Khan and Advocate Raha Shaikh a high court lawyer An 11yearold child who regularly fed the dog and witnessed the aftermath guided them to the location When activists arrived they found the body wrapped in cloth and dumped inside the gutter With great difficulty a man and a child entered the drain tied a rope around the body and pulled it outDespite the late hour the activists obtained a death certificate and proceeded to Oshiwara police station where an FIR was registered under sections of BNS and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act The body was sent for a postmortem examination before being cremated Animal welfare workers termed the incident ldquodeeply disturbing and inhumanerdquo warning that such acts reflect a growing desensitisation to violence in society ldquoKilling community animals is not just morally reprehensible it is a punishable offence under Indian law Acts of violence against voiceless beings violate the values of compassion and coexistence enshrined in the constitutionrdquo an activist said They stressed the need for accountability strict enforcement of animal protection laws and public awareness ldquoNo child should have to witness such cruelty and no society should normalise brutalityrdquo they added urging citizens to report such abuseJan 24Day the stray dog was killed