DogExpress
In yet another case of animal brutality in the capital, a street dog was tied up and beaten to death by some people from a popular locality. This isn’t an isolated incident of street dog torture and murder and while we condemn any form of brutality, why do we fall short of doing the same for an animal? Especially for street dogs in India.
While Australia is battling with saving their own animal species in wildfires, India is a notch ahead, killing animals without much remorse. A street dog (female), whose legs were tied together, was found badly injured, with a cracked skull, after she was beaten up by the locals of Masigarh, Sukhdev Vihar – a posh locality in South Delhi. Although no one has been identified behind the crime committed, it is believed a group of people were behind this and the only reason they beat her to death was because she was biting a few residents there.
The dog, left to die, was then spotted by an animal lover, who called others from the fraternity for help. While she was taken to Friendicoes, the capital’s leading dog shelter, another volunteer stayed back to round up some formalities with the police. While at Friendicoes, the dog was diagnosed with a broken skull and multiple fractures on her snout. Unfortunately, she didn’t survive and passed away a few days ago. This incident alone is very unfortunate and we definitely believe the perpetrators need to be punished. But what is the punishment for animal abuse, torture and murder? Because we don’t have stricter laws for animal abuse, most of us are unaware of a fulfilling and rightful punishment for the accused.
Currently a complaint under Section 11(1) of the PCA and Sections 428 and 429 of IPC against unknown accused persons who beat the dog, has been filed. The section states that anyone who tortures an animal in any way or kills them shall be liable to imprisonment and fined as well.
“We took the dog to tis hazari hospital where the doctor Rekha Kumari, informed us that she had no jurisdiction and was the duty doctor for that day. After speaking with several authorities and waiting for 3 hours with the body of the dog, the doctor informed the IO that there were no instruments to do the post mortem and it’s the IOs responsibility to get the instruments to cut the dog’s body” said Gauri Puri, a lawyer by profession and an animal rights activist, in an interview with MensXP.
As it is, Delhi Police has been facing a lot of wrath from the capital for their inactions towards particular incidents that occurred around the city, and in this case too, they failed to mitigate the dire situation.
“As a Lawyer, I have faced several procedural difficulties not only with the police, but the govt vetenary hospitals too. While there is hope with the FIR, in the absence of any efforts to investigate the culprits or inquire who the accused were, the police has been taking statements of people allegedly bitten by the dog. This cruel act was admittedly done by the local residents of Masigarh, all of whom are known to be goons. Each one claims to have knowledge of how the incident happened, but with the lack of action of police, no name has been forthcoming” – Gauri added.
There are a lot of incidents pertaining to animal torture that go by without the perpetrators paying for their heinous crimes. Remember Lucky? the Worli based street dog, who was beaten to death when he came to a gated colony to take refuge from rain? He died, and with him died the struggle to nab the culprits and put them behind bars.
#SaveLucky We spoke with #IramRizvi who along with her friends is trying to #SaveLucky the #WorliDog Let’s pray to #SaveLucky Let’s have your suggestions also.
.@MumbaiDog .@MumbaiMirror .@MirrorNow .@DeShobhaa .@Sonam_Kapoor .@AnushkaSharma .@TheJohnAbraham @fayedsouza pic.twitter.com/WZXjDxJwQV
— jeeturaaj rj (@MirchiJeeturaaj) July 30, 2019
So, at any given point in time, if you see animal torture in any form around you, this is what you can do!
(1) If you see someone hurt/torture/abuse an animal, the first thing you should do is confront them an ask them to stop. If you think that’s not a safe option, try and gather a crowd and humiliate them for doing what they are.
(2) Write to an active animal welfare group on social media, with adequate evidence of the abuse in the form of pictures and videos. Do this to garner as much support as you can.
(3) Call the police and make sure the complaint is under Section 11 of the Prevention to cruelty to animals and section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal code. Read up on these sections and do your research beforehand. Make sure your complaint is registered under all three sections. Many times complaint is only under Section 11 of the PCA, where the punishment is nothing.
(4) Legally file a complaint and take a DD No. Make sure to take a copy of it. It’s the complainant’s right.
(5) Follow up with the Investigating Officer. Give a letter for reservations of CCTVs, as that can at as a vital proof of the incident.
(6) Give the animal first aid ASAP. MLC (medico legal complaint) of the dog can be done afterward also.
(7) If the animal dies, and there is a complaint, it’s the IOs responsibility to preserve the body, get the PM and dispose the body.
While you follow these legalities, make sure to reach out to prominent people who can help you with such cases, legally an otherwise. While the investigations are still ongoing for this dog who succumbed to her injuries, we only hope we can prevent animal torture of this degree in the future and make a safe haven for all living creatures, around us.
With inputs from Gauri Puri, Advocate (Delhi High Court) & Animal Rights Activist.
Please note: This article is not edited by Dog Express Team!
in Chandigarh, India. 
