Doctor booked for throwing dog to death from second-floor of building

Police identified the accused as Dr Sagar Ballal, a neurosurgeon, and a resident of Brindavan Apartments at Lakkasandra in southeast Bengaluru

A 33-year-old doctor in Bengaluru has been booked for allegedly killing a dog by throwing it from the second-floor corridor of the building in which he lived, police officers aware of the matter said on Friday, adding that the dog died of critical injuries.

The residents alleged that a dog, known as Scooby, was also allegedly thrown from an upper floor in a similar way before(Representative)

The incident took place on April 20, they added.

Police identified the accused as Dr Sagar Ballal, a neurosurgeon, and a resident of Brindavan Apartments at Lakkasandra in southeast Bengaluru. The dog used to live on the premises of the apartment complex and was taken care of by the residents, police said.

The Adugodi police registered a case against Ballal on April 22, based on the complaint of a 22-year-old student, Ayush Bannerjee, under Section 325 (killing an animal) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

“We summoned the accused for inquiry. He denied the charges levelled against him,’’ Adugodi police inspector Ravi Kumar said. “The doctor told us that he has differences with his neighbours over car parking, following which they have filed a false complaint against him. No CCTV footage is available. We investigating the matter,” he added.

The residents alleged that the dog, known as Scooby, was also allegedly thrown from an upper floor in a similar way before.

“On February 5, the residents woke up around 2.30 am after hearing a dog’s cries. We found him on the ground floor with several injuries. We took him to a veterinary hospital in southern Bengaluru, where doctors told us that his spine was broken, besides sustaining other injuries. He was discharged on April 16. We did not go to the police then as there was no witness,” a resident said on condition of anonymity.

“On April 20, we again heard another loud noise around 2.30 am and found that Scooby has fallen on a parked car. He suffered severe head injuries and did not survive,” the resident added.

“The residents saw Ballal entering his apartment and locking the door at that moment. They tried to confront him, but he did not respond,” police said, citing the complaint.

According to news report, Ballal was also previously been involved in the death of a stray dog at Indore in Madhya Pradesh in 2022, while he was studying for his postgraduate degree. An FIR was lodged against him at the Palasia police station in Indore, initiated by the NGO, People for Animals, accusing him of being responsible for a dog’s death on August 7, 2022, the report added.