Saw Crawford Market people selling coloured puppies, says Mumbai teen

16-year-old had dyed strays and passed them off as high breeds; activists suspect larger racket

A worli-based animal rights NGO has dashed off a letter to MP and animal activist Maneka Gandhi, after the fawn-coloured indie puppies they had handed over for adoption were returned to them a strange dark brown shade. The activists then found out that the 16-year-old boy who had taken the puppies had dyed their fur and passed them off as purebreds as they fetched a 'good price'.

Swapna Gupta, who works with an NGO for the welfare of animal rights, had put an advertisement on social media for the adoption of two stray pups, three days ago.

Speaking to mid-day, Vijay Mohanani of the NGO Bombay Animal Rights, said, "Gupta had put up the adoption post for two indie motherless pups on her social media account and a person who calls himself a rescuer [on various social media rescue groups] from Jogeshwari called her saying that he had two families who were interested in adopting the pups and he had done the house checks. Convinced by his claims as he was part of many social media groups, she gave him the puppies."

Also Read: Kalyan cops: Move animals to safety first, then ask for police protection

After: ...dyed a dark brown

However, immediately after taking the pups from her, the so-called rescuers as well as the person who had allegedly adopted them started ignoring her calls. She smelled something fishy and sent a message to the rescuer demanding the puppies back or she would call the police.

"On Thursday, she finally got the pups back but our hearts sank on seeing that they had turned from a light brown to an almost black colour," said Mohanani.

Also Read: Mumbai: Raid at Crawford Market; exotic birds and flamingo rescued

Before and After

The rescuer was a 16-year-old from Jogeshwari and the NGO found that his father was a traffic constable with the Mumbai police. "When Gupta grilled the boy, he finally confessed that there were people in Crawford Market who coloured stray puppies and passed them off as purebreds so he, too, had dyed the pups' fur in order to sell them," he added.

Animal activist Swapna Gupta with the confiscated puppies

Mohanani said, "After the boy's confession, we immediately wrote a complaint to MP Maneka Gandhi, demanding legal action against such people for this brutal act and to expose this racket. She has assured us help in the matter. We will be going to Worli police station on Saturday to register a complaint."

Also Read: Mumbai: 'Regularise illegal lofts in municipal markets'

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