In another incident of stray dog killings, nearly 200 canines were allegedly killed in Telangana's Kamareddy district, pushing the death toll to around 500 over the past week, police said on Tuesday. According to news agency PTI sources in the affected villages, some elected representatives, including sarpanches, allegedly orchestrated the killings to "fulfil promises made to villagers" during the recent gram panchayat elections to address the stray dog problem.
Police said a case has been registered against six people, including five village sarpanches, for their alleged role in the incident.
Viscera samples sent for forensic
Earlier, police in Hanamkonda district had registered cases against nine people, including two women sarpanches and their husbands, in connection with the alleged killing of around 300 stray dogs in the villages of Shayampet and Arepally.
"Ahead of the gram panchayat elections held in December last year, some candidates promised villagers they would tackle the stray dog and monkey menace. They are now allegedly ‘fulfilling’ those promises by killing stray dogs," sources said.
Police said the carcasses were buried on the outskirts of the villages, following which veterinary teams exhumed the bodies and conducted post-mortem examinations.
Viscera samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory to ascertain the exact cause of death and identify the poison used, a senior police official told PTI.
Notices have been issued to the accused, the police added.
Complaint filed over poisonous injections to dogs
Gautam of the Stray Animal Foundation of India has alleged that stray dogs were killed by administering poisonous injections.
According to Gautam, the organisation recently received information that between 300 and 500 stray dogs were killed within the limits of Machareddy police station in Kamareddy district. He alleged that sarpanches of 5 villages were involved in the incident and that the dogs were injected with poison and later buried in the ground outside the villages.
He said a complaint has been filed against the 5 sarpanches, following which an FIR has been registered and post mortem examinations are being conducted. Gautam said what had taken place was completely wrong and illegal, and that killing 300 to 500 stray dogs in this manner amounts to a violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
He added that as per rules, stray dogs should be sent to animal birth control centres and that there is no provision in the law allowing them to be killed in this way. Gautam said strict action should be taken against those responsible.
300 stray dogs were poisoned to death
Earlier, around 300 stray dogs were allegedly poisoned to death over a three-day period starting January 6 in Shayampet and Arepally villages of Hanamkonda district. Police have registered a case against nine people, including sarpanches, gram panchayat secretaries, and two hired individuals, in connection with the incident.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would consider issuing directions to states to provide "heavy compensation" to victims of dog-bite incidents and hold dog feeders accountable. The apex court expressed concern over the poor implementation of norms related to the management of stray animals over the past five years.
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