In a disturbing repeat of recent animal cruelty cases in Telangana, nearly 100 canines were allegedly “poisoned to death” in Hyderabad, parking fresh outrage among animal welfare activists. The killing comes days after over 500 dogs across three districts in Telangana were “poisoned to death” to fulfill a controversial local election promise of a “dog-free village”.
It is suspected that here, too, the dogs were culled by professionals, allegedly at the orders of the village sarpanch and his aides. The carcasses of the dogs are yet to be retrieved.
It is suspected that here, too, the killings were carried out by professionals, allegedly at the behest of the village sarpanch and his aides. The carcasses of the dogs are yet to be retrieved.
Case filed against sarpanch, secretary of Yacharam gram panchayat
The fresh incident came to light after an animal welfare activist, associated with the Stray Animal Foundation of India, filed a complaint with Yacharam Police Station. According to the complaint, the dogs were injected with some poisonous substances on January 19, news agency PTI reported.
A case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS and the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act against the sarpanch, secretary and ward member of Yacharam gram panchayat on Tuesday, PTI reported quoting a police official.
As per the complainant, 100 dogs were killed, but based on preliminary investigation and after verifying with villagers, around 50 dogs were found to be killed, though further probe is on in this regard, the official said.
“We are investigating the case thoroughly. Efforts are also underway to track down where the dog carcasses have been buried,” said A Nandeshwar Reddy, SHO of Yacharam police station, was quoted as saying by TOI.
Meanwhile, animal rights activists suspect that like the previous incident reported from Kamareddy, Hanumakonda and Jagtial, here too the stray dogs were killed using lethal injections.
In her complaint, Mudavath Preethi of Stray Animal Foundation of India, claimed that village representatives have given conflicting versions about the whereabouts of the missing dogs.
“During a phone conversation with animal welfare activist Deepika Pingali, a ward member claimed that the dogs were relocated. Later, however, when another activist, Adulapuram Goutham, spoke to the same ward member, he said that the dogs were administered anaesthesia injections. Subsequent enquiries with villagers revealed that the dogs were in fact injected with poisonous substances, leading to their death,” the complaint stated, TOI reported.
Dogs were injected with a lethal substance
This is the second incident of animal cruelty coming from the state in a week. In the previous incident – reported from Hanamkonda and Kamareddy districts – the dogs were reportedly culled over a controversial promise that was made for the recent Gram Panchayat elections to woo villagers frustrated by a spike in stray dog attacks.
Gram Panchayat secretaries reportedly facilitated the logistics and hired professional dog catchers for the mass culling, as per NDTV report.