New Delhi: Days after the Supreme Court modified its order on the management of stray dogs, there appears to be an uptick in violence against dog feeders in Delhi-NCR.
From Gurugram to Ghaziabad to Delhi’s Paschim Vihar, dog feeders have been slapped, punched, thrashed with sticks and even issued death threats. Videos of them in bloodied clothes, wounds on their faces, heads and arms are doing the rounds on social media.
While this is not the first time individuals have been attacked for feeding stray dogs, the latest spate of attacks has the animal welfare community fuming. Activists ThePrint spoke to say the modified Supreme Court order has been widely misinterpreted as a “ban” on feeding stray dogs, emboldening individuals to attack feeders. They argue that these assaults stem from a “misconception” about the top court ruling.
On 22 August, a three-judge bench clarified that all stray dogs captured after the court’s previous ruling must be sterilised, vaccinated, and dewormed, and only then, released back into the locality from where the dog catchers picked them up. However, dogs with rabies, dogs suspected to be rabid, or those showing aggressive behaviour will not be released.
Additionally, the court issued specific directions with regard to the feeding of dogs. “Municipal authorities shall forthwith commence an exercise for creating dedicated feeding spaces for the stray dogs in each municipal ward. The feeding areas shall be created/identified keeping in view the population and concentration of stray dogs in the particular municipal ward. Gantries/notice boards shall be placed near such designated feeding areas, mentioning that stray dogs shall only be fed in such areas,” the order read.
Adding, “Under no condition shall the feeding of stray dogs on the streets be permitted. The persons found feeding the dogs on the streets in contravention of the above directions shall be liable to be proceeded against under the relevant legal framework.”
The Supreme Court order has, for the first time, brought attention to dog feeders and recognised their role as an essential part of stray dog management.
Activists are trying to explain the condition on the ground, but without much luck. “Dog feeding is not banned; the court has introduced regulations,” said Harjas Sethi, a Gurgaon resident and campaigner with SaveDelhiNCR.
Sethi said the order “makes it the responsibility of municipal bodies like MCD in Delhi and MCG in Gurgaon to create proper feeding points” but “since most municipalities have not done so yet, feeders are being targeted”.
Also Read: ‘This is not personal’—what Supreme Court said in stray dogs order that sparked outrage
22-yr-old slapped in Ghaziabad
In Ghaziabad, a neighbour assaulted 22-year-old Yashika Shukla while she was feeding a dog in the evening of 22 August. Shukla said that her neighbour, Kamal Khanna, initially, threw a stone at the dog she was feeding, then hurled abuses at her, as well as her roommate, who was accompanying her, before he went on to kick the dog.
“I feed dogs daily in the designated areas in our apartment complex. We never even go close to my neighbour’s house,” she told ThePrint. “When I resisted and asked him to stop (his attack on the dog), he, shockingly, started slapping me.”
Her roommate filmed the entire incident on her phone.
Shukla alleged that bystanders did not come to her rescue but encouraged Khanna, saying: “Ek-do hamari taraf se bhi maaro (slap her on our behalf too).”
The police registered an FIR against Khanna the following day under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt, punishable with up to one year in jail or a fine of Rs 10,000, 351(2) for criminal intimidation, carrying a maximum sentence of two years, which can extend to seven years if the threat involves grievous harm or death, and 352 for intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, punishable with up to two years’ imprisonment or fine.
They later arrested Khanna, who claimed that Shukla hit him first, which she denies. “He even mentioned CCTV footage. But when asked to produce it, he fled,” Shukla said, adding this was not the first time Khanna harassed them—the roommates—for feeding strays.
Beaten & threatened in Gurgaon
A few days later, another video surfaced in Gurgaon Sector 28, showing a man hitting a dog feeder with a stick and threatening to kill him. “Why are you here? Who sent you here, despite the SC order? Kaat ke phek dunga (I will cut you up and throw you),” the man is heard saying. The dog feeder, who was on a bike, was hit from behind and attacked a second time before a bystander intervened.
Aditya Saran—a volunteer with the SaveDelhiNCR campaign who has been helping the dog feeder, a wage worker from West Bengal, said resident Prashant had hired the Bengali man before he moved to Dehradun to feed dogs in several sectors, on the promise of regularly sending him an allowance for the chore. So, the Bengali man took to caring for the dogs.
“He has not fed the dogs since the attack. Now, he is scared. We had to push hard even to get an NCR [non-cognisable report] registered,” Saran told ThePrint. In this case, too, the police added Section 115 and Section 351(2) of the BNS to the complaint.
ThePrint has access to the NCR report.
Also Read: Stray dogs debate divides BJP & RSS—shelters vs sterilisation & ‘gau mata apathy’
Elderly feeders attacked
On Thursday, another assault took place in Paschim Vihar, West Delhi, where Neeti Khattar, who has been feeding strays in her locality for roughly four years, was allegedly attacked by her neighbour, identified as lawyer Jai Ram Garg, and his son. “He keeps accusing us of bringing the dogs into the building, even though we feed them only at the designated spots,” Khattar told ThePrint.
According to her, the clash began when Garg picked a fight with her husband, accusing the couple of leaving the society gates open. “They beat my husband first, causing a head injury. When I tried to intervene, he punched me in the chest four to five times; it is all swollen. I have deep scratch-like wounds on my body,” she alleged.
Videos from the incident show Khattar and her husband bleeding, their clothes soaked in blood.
“I have been watching such videos emerging on social media, and now, this has happened to me, as well. It feels as though the Supreme Court has given these dog-haters the power to do whatever they want with the dog feeders,” she said. Khattar accused the police of not cooperating with the couple. “My MLC [medico-legal case report] was not proper, and though the police had filed an FIR, I still await a copy,” she said.
In assault cases, MLC is a medical record that documents injuries or ailments after a doctor determines that an investigation by law enforcement is necessary in the case, not only to fix responsibility but also to ascertain the circumstances. An MLC serves as crucial evidence in any legal proceedings. It is because it details the nature and extent of the injuries, facilitating police investigations and helping establish such facts in court.
Beaten for protesting an attack on a dog
In another case, Atul Agarwal, a resident of Jalvayu Towers in Gurgaon’s Sector 56, alleged he was beaten and chased away after he asked a neighbour not to hit a stray dog. “It was one of the five community dogs that we have in the society. They eat in a designated spot, and even the Residents’ Welfare Association has information on them,” he told ThePrint.
When he objected to the assault on the dog, Agarwal claimed the neighbour “burst out in anger” and abused him. “He already had a stick in his hand and hit me on the head with it. My head started bleeding. I tried recording him on my phone, but that escalated things further.”
The situation worsened when the man’s wife, daughter, and later his son joined in. “They cornered me, pushed me against a wall, and began hitting me with kicks and punches. I tried to run, but they chased me to another block. Then, security intervened. I, however, fainted after covering 100 metres because of my injuries,” Agarwal alleged.
In a video that is doing the rounds on social media, Agarwal has recorded angry people coming after him. The CCTV, he said, has captured the assault. A written complaint, seen by ThePrint, has been submitted to the Sector 56 police station, but no FIR has been registered yet.
ThePrint reached Agarwal’s neighbours Anil Sharma and Poonam Sharma via phone calls for comment, but had not received any response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Stray dogs have the right to live. SC order can trigger a wave of animal cruelty