New Delhi: Two back-to-back incidents this week in which stray dogs were allegedly beaten to death in Noida and Greater Noida have yet again triggered tension between animal-lovers and fellow residents.
While the first case was reported from Noida Phase 2, the other is from the posh Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) Gurjinder Vihar in Greater Noida. In both cases, arrests are yet to be made.
On 6 March, a video from Noida Phase 2 went viral that showed a dog being thrashed by two stick-wielding men. An FIR was filed in the case reported from Bhangel area only after lawyer Vishal Gautam tweeted repeatedly about the cruel episode.
“Even after filing a complaint, no FIR has been registered by the Noida Phase 2 police. Are they trying to help the culprits?” he tweeted. It received a response from popular singer Mohit Chauhan who termed the incident as “sick”.
It was followed by another tweet on 7 March in which Gautam informed that the dog died during treatment. Soon, an FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
“The video was heart-wrenching. The dog was attacked by two men holding sticks. I received the video from a friend who had filed a complaint but the police were reluctant to take up the case until I tweeted,” Gautam told ThePrint. “If a dog is aggressive, it can be informed to authorities, and we can get them vaccinated. We have laws and rules; we should abide by them.”
Another case of animal cruelty came to light after members of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) and unidentified guards from the upscale society in Beta 2 of Gurjinder Vihar were booked for allegedly beating a dog to death on the intervening night of 3 and 4 March.
The complaint was filed by a resident of the society, who used to feed the dog, claiming that a cab driver saw society guards thrashing the black dog with a red collar that she had put around its neck.
“A society resident who was dropped off by the cab driver received a call from him saying that a black dog with a red collar was being thrashed by the guards. Residents of the society called me, and I went out looking for the dog and found that it was missing,” the resident said.
The resident called the police, who retrieved the CCTV camera footage of the night that allegedly showed guards beating the dog with sticks. As per the resident, there are 45 dogs, including the missing one, in the society which are sterilised and vaccinated by the Greater Noida authority.
“On the night of 3 March, I fed the dog at around 9 pm. He was a healthy four-year-old dog and has been living in our society for the past three years. He was happily co-existing with us and it has pained me to know how he was killed. I don’t even know where his body was dumped,” claimed the resident, who has been living in the society for the past 12 years.
Another resident called the fallout a “consequence of mass hysteria surrounding dog bites”, and added that the dog was vaccinated six months ago and was under supervision of authorities for three months after which it was allowed to move around in the locality..
“The hysteria created around dog bites has resulted in the killing. There has been consistent criticism in the society against those feeding the dogs,” the resident said.
Noida and Greater Noida are no stranger to dog bite and attack cases, as seen in the much reported case from La Residentia society from Greater Noida in which a pet dog bit a six-year-old boy inside the lift of the residential complex in November last year.
In the AWHO Gurjinder Vihar case, the RWA has termed the incident as “fake” calling it an attempt to malign its image.
“There are four dogs in our society which have turned dangerous for the residents. Around 30 dog bites have been recorded in our society alone. The black dog was one of them. No one asked the guards to kill the dog. We only asked them to manage him,” air commodore Pushpendra Kumar (retd.), a RWA member, said.
“They (the dog feeders) are urban naxals who want to malign our image as dog haters. But we won’t let them do that,” he added.
Investigation is underway and no arrests have been made as yet. “We are investigating the matter. We have the CCTV footage and will soon start summoning the suspects,” said a police officer investigating the case.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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