A Mumbai police officer is dog’s best friend. He files FIRs against cruelty

Sudhir Kudalkar of MHB police station is on a mission to save street dogs. He has become a social media darling with nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram.

On a mission to save strays, Sudhir Kudalkar has become a social media darling with nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram | Special arrangement

Mumbai: In June last year, senior police inspector Sudhir Kudalkar of the MHB police station, in Mumbai’s western suburb of Borivali, received a WhatsApp message. At a slum nearby, a stray dog had gone unconscious. He rushed to the spot. The three-year-old canine was bleeding and unconscious. It was hit on the head by an iron road; the wound was deep.

Kudalkar took the dog to a nearby hospital. The dog named Brownie was saved and continued to receive medical help for the next month. The senior inspector didn’t stop there. He went on to register an FIR under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act against the two people from neighbourhood who had hit the animal. During the investigation, the accused said that the dog used to bark at them and had also bitten them once, hence they attacked it in self-defence. But the others in the neighbourhood had no such complaints.

“When he was discharged, I took the dog to the neighbourhood personally and welcomed him. I went there to give a message that I was there to support the dog. If it bites, then they should have handed him over to authorities instead of hitting it. Nobody else had complained about it. That means they (the accused) had done something to the dog,” Kudalkar told ThePrint.

The case is still ongoing in court number 68 in Borivali west and the accused are out on bail, but the dog is living freely in the neighbourhood and there has been no complaint since.

Between busting frauds, catching thieves, cracking down on murderers and rescuing dogs, the 50-year-old cop has a large arc of crime to cover. On a mission to save strays, he has become a social media darling with nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram. The Gen-Y soft-spoken cop is making Mumbai safe for animals one neighbourhood at a time, using social media power to make regular appeals. And people are responding big to his call. His Pure Animal Lover (PAL) group that started in 2020 is today a 7,000-strong network.

The Gen-Y soft-spoken cop is making Mumbai safe for animals one neighbourhood at a time | Special arrangement

The beginning of PAL

Kudalkar has been an animal lover since his childhood but the 2020 pandemic changed the way he looked at strays. During the pandemic, many people left their pets on the roads, and feeding them was becoming a big problem as people were not stepping out of their houses. This made these animals vulnerable, says Kudalkar.

“During the pandemic, feeders were not there, animal cruelty increased, hotels and restaurants were closed, at that time, many people (animal feeders) contacted me to let them come out to feed the animals, which I facilitated via police.”

That is how PAL was born. It started as a WhatsApp group before finding reach on Facebook and Instagram. The group consists of animal lovers, animal activists, ground-level feeders, and lawyers from across the Mumbai Metropolitan region.

In many societies, Kudalkar says, animal lovers are discriminated against. Some are not allowed to carry pets in their lifts or are fined for feeding animals in the society complex. Dealing with RWA-like rules that impinge on animal rights meant having a legal bite. That is when the Mumbai cop felt it was necessary to create a PAL legal team, which now has 30 members.

“We provide this legal help without any charge as many of the members are themselves animal lovers,” he says.

PAL today has about 11 sub-groups with 500-600 members in each sub-groups.

Whenever a member spots an animal in distress, they put it up on the group and those nearby take care of the animal, take it to the hospital if needed, provide for it, and so on.

“Post the healthcare treatment, we take the animal to where they belong as relocating them is not an appropriate option,” says the cop who has earned a new identity with his canine job.

Having a police person as the head of this initiative is very helpful.

“If you have a senior inspector on board, it becomes easier to navigate through the police machinery. So sometimes when we mention his name, the police take it seriously. Even for victims, the process is smoothened out,” says Preeti Salaskar, an advocate with PAL’s legal team.

Another PAL member Manavi Devlekar, a lawyer by profession, who is in the group’s admin team tells ThePrint that with Kudalkar on their side, filing FIRs or navigating through follow-ups becomes easier. The trust factor is enhanced with him on their side.

When a society in Mumbai moved five pups outside its premises, it ended up separating them from the mother who was restlessly searching for them. It was Kudalkar who sensitised the society residents and helped reunite the pups with their mother.

“Now there is no issue at all with the society members and there are no complaints. So yes, he is very much helpful,” says Devlekar.

Kudalkar has been an animal lover since his childhood but the 2020 pandemic changed the way he looked at strays | Special arrangement

Rescuing animals from abuse 

PAL’s network also enters in partnerships with other entities to save animals. Sometimes there are cases of blind or paralysed animals who won’t be able to survive on their own. To handle such cases, PAL has tied up with three shelter homes – in Virar, Mira-Bhayender, and Malad-Madh.

So far, the PAL group has rescued over 50 animals and sent them to shelter homes.

Rescuing strays and bringing them to safety requires money. And Kudalkar and co have taken the crowdfunding way. Whoever pitches in with a fund for the treatment of the animal, we declare their names and amount on our group for everyone to see, says Kudalkar.

“So the donor knows that the amount he or she is paying is for a particular treatment or food, we put the screenshots of receipts on the group as well for them to see. So, it is all transparent and the donor is assured of where the money is going,” he says.

The group has admin, finance team, and coordinators, “just like how a company is made up”.

Five cats at home, one in police station

Kudalkar lives with his wife and a son in Mumbai’s Vile Parle area. His love for pets started when many years ago his wife, her friend, and a vice-principal at a school rescued a Persian cat and brought it home. Since then, his cat family has only grown bigger.

Currently, he has five cats: two mixed breed and three Persian cats. And two of them have been rescued by his wife.

For his work with the animals, over the years, Kudalkar has received many accolades. From PETA to Animal Welfare of India, to the Maharashtra government and the Police department, the police officer is a recipient of many awards and appreciation letters.

And what starts at Kudalkar’s home extends to his workplace—the MBH police station.

A pack of stray dogs and cats roam in and around the police station area, ready to greet the visitors. Kudalkar carries a can of water, food, and a bowl every day to his work place for these strays. Even when he isn’t around, they are fed here regularly. They have become permanent members of the police station.

And Lola, the cat, is easily the most popular one here.

In July last year, a video of Kudalkar went viral on Instagram. Sitting behind the desk, instead of Kudalkar, there was a black and white feline lounging in the chair, looking resolutely at the camera as if she belonged there…like a boss.

Senior PI Sudhir Kudalkar may be the boss at the police station, but his heart bows down to a higher authority —  Lola, his loving, faithful companion among the many cats and dogs he takes care of around the police station.

For his work with the animals, over the years, Kudalkar has received many accolades | Special arrangement

She is also the reason for Kudalkar’s massive fan following on Instagram with 46.5k followers and a page full of stories of rescued animals in just six months.

Lola, who was always found wandering around the MHB Police station, had gone missing. Everyone at the station spent a fortnight looking for her. One day, she mysteriously reappeared, nuzzling against Kudalkar’s leg, back to claim her share of his love.

He excitedly shared the news of her return on Instagram. “This was one of our first videos that went viral,” Kudalkar said.

The video has got him over 395K views and 52K likes so far, and many warm comments that fill his heart. Someone called Lola ‘IPS Kaalu.’ There are numerous comments praising Kudalkar’s work with animals. An animal lover wanted to know whether Lola had been arrested and who had her custody.

“She is in the custody of my heart,” Kudalkar replied.