10 dogs in 16 days: Spree killer at large in Alibaug village?

It seems someone is out on a killing spree in an Alibaug village and is targeting pet and stray dogs An animal welfare organisation said 10 canines have died under mysterious circumstances in Kolgaon village near Mandwa jetty between February 15 and March 2 One of them was a pet dog belonging to Kimberly Dixit the CEO of The Red Pen mdash an education consulting firm Laali was the last dog to have died of suspected poisoning in the villageldquoWe have a bungalow at Kolgaon where Laali lived On Tuesday March 2 Laali who was completely fit suddenly fell ill and died We including Laali had lunch around 2 pm and around 430 pm my daughter noticed Laali was foaming at the mouth and shivering We informed the vet but Laali died before he could reach Laali must have eaten something between 2 pm and 430 pm which resulted in her deathrdquolsquoAll poisoning similarrsquoldquoI think someone is poisoning the dogs in the area as our dog was poisoned the way others were I have filed a police complaint and they visited my property for investigation Since February 15 seven to eight dogs in our area have died in a similar way and so the police should investigate the matter and take strict action against those responsible for the death of innocent animalsrdquo she addedKimberly said dogs her neighbours fed regularly have also died However it is still not clear whether the dogs were poisoned within the premises of the bungalows or outside ldquoSince itrsquos a remote area the compound wall is broken in some places and so it is difficult to say whether the dog was poisoned inside the premises or outsiderdquo Kimberly said Kimberly told midday that Laali had similar symptoms 20 days back too but it was less severe so a local doctor was able to save her with an injectionInsecticides usedAnimal welfare activist Rekha Dixit who has been working in the area told midday that the nine stray dogs had died similarly ldquoWe suspect that all the dogs died of poisoning The poisoning could also be taking place because of certain insecticides that are easily available in the local market and anyone can buy those from an agro shop without any paperwork We donrsquot really know whether someone is intentionally poisoning the dogs A proper investigation should be carried out Unfortunately we have no CCTV cameras in the vicinityrdquoInsecticides containing organophosphorus are easily available in the market and used by farmers to protect their crops from insects and mites Such insecticides are also used by locals as rat and snake repellent ldquoMany locals use rat poison mostly organophosphorous and mix this highly poisonous insecticide with food and leave it out for the rodents There are chances that the dogs who scavenge might have eaten the samerdquo Rekha addedPolice speakPolice officer Deepak Satote from Mandwa police station said ldquoWe have received the complaint and have started investigating the reason behind the death of dogs due to suspected poisoning We have also informed the Sasavne gram panchayat and sought any information they may have In order to catch the culprit we have increased patrolling in the areardquo09No of stray dogs who died since Feb 15 in the village