Van driver arrested for running over community dog in Greater Noida

The CCTV footage of the incident was shared on social media by Bhardwaj following which several internet users demanded the arrest of the vehicle driver

A van driver was arrested by the Greater Noida police on Thursday morning for allegedly running over a community dog in Sector Omicron-2 on Wednesday morning. The incident was captured on a CCTV camera at the spot, and a clip of that footage was shared on social media by the complainant in the case, said police.

A screengrab of the CCTV footage, which captured the incident.

The video triggered widespread outrage among social media users, who noted that the dog was run over ”deliberately” by the driver.

According to Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj, a resident of Omicron-2, around 7.15am on Wednesday, the sector’s community dog, fondly called “Bhoori” was run over a by a speeding Eeco van. Bhardwaj is also an animal welfare activist.

“Bhoori was 17 months old, and she was vaccinated and sterilised six months ago by us. She usually stays near gate number 1 of Block B and is taken care of by the security guard who comes for day duty. On Wednesday, when the guard arrived for his duty at 7am, Bhoori, as always, was excited to see him and walked across the road towards him. As soon as she saw the speeding van approaching her, she tried to run away but was deliberately run over by the driver. In the CCTV footage, it can be clearly seen that the driver changed lanes to deliberately run over the poor animal,” said Bhardwaj.

The CCTV footage of the incident was shared on social media by Bhardwaj following which several internet users demanded the arrest of the vehicle driver, and also commented that the act seemed deliberate.

There were several school going children on the street and they too witnessed the incident, and called up their parents to take the animal to a hospital. However, she died on the spot.

“The children were visibly disturbed. Bhoori was a playful canine that grew up on the street and was friendly with all. Residents of the colony, including the children, used to feed her every day,” said Shalini Chauhan, a resident of the sector.

She added that since the dog was vaccinated and neutered, it was no danger to anyone.

Kashmira Singh, another resident of the sector, said, “The security guard who used to take care of Bhoori is upset after the incident. It was not an accident but a deliberate attempt by the driver to kill the dog.”

Following a complaint by Bhardwaj, an FIR was registered against van driver under sections 279 (rash driving) and 429 (mischief by killing or maiming any animal, cattle, etc) of the Indian Penal Code at Dadri police station.

Investigators found that the van was being used as a private taxi to ferry students to private schools in the area. At the time of the incident, the driver was on his way to pick up children and the van was not carrying passengers.

“After tracing the vehicle registration number, the driver was identified as Ajay (son of Vijaypal), a resident of Raipur Bangar village in Dadri. He was arrested from his residence on Thursday morning. He was produced before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody,” said Sujeet Upadhyay, station house officer of Dadri police station.