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Karnataka: Case against district officials after 100 dog carcasses found
Officials of Bhadravati Rural police station, where the complaint has been registered, said that local residents who observed some suspicious activity in the area informed a group involved in animal rescue who found the carcasses of dogs.
Bengaluru:A day after Shivamogga district police filed a case against officials of a gram panchayat in the district after several street dogs were found buried in a village, the police on Thursday said that the cause of the death could be identified only after the experts’ report, however, preliminary police investigation suggests that the dogs were poisoned.
The carcasses were found on Tuesday by people involved in animal rescue in Hunasekatte village in Bhadravati taluk in Shivamogga located around 300km from Bengaluru. Though the police didn’t provide an exact number; but said a preliminary inspection suggested there could be over 100 carcasses.
Superintendent of police Shivamogga Laxmi Prasad said that a case has been registered against Kambadal Hosur gram panchayat officials based on a complaint by local animal rights activists on Tuesday. “The complaint says that the killing of the dogs was ordered by the gram panchayat. We have sought a report on the matter from a team of veterinarians on the cause of the deaths and other details. Further action will be taken based on the report,” said Prasad.
Officials of Bhadravati Rural police station, where the complaint has been registered, said that local residents who observed some suspicious activity in the area informed a group involved in animal rescue who found the carcasses of dogs. The activists alleged that the gram panchayat officials contracted a private firm to kill dogs and that some dogs were buried alive as well. Police said the allegations are being investigated.
The case has been registered under Section 428 of the Indian Penal Code (killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal). Police on Thursday morning said that the cause of the death could be identified only after the experts’ report, however, preliminary police investigation suggests that the dogs were poisoned.
The SP added that the expert team has been able to recover around 15 carcasses so far. “They haven’t been able to identify the cause of the death because there the carcasses are more than 5 days old. We hope they will be able to give a report soon,” he said.
The officer added that police are probing the allegation that the killing was ordered by the gram panchayat and are yet to make any breakthrough. “We have found a vehicle number, which was used for allegedly burying the dogs. We have traced the number to Mysuru and our teams are tracking the lead,” he added.
The gram panchayat officials, however maintained that they had not ordered the killing of dogs. Talking to the media, the secretary of Kambadal Hosur gram panchayat B Manjunath said that panchayat had not ordered the capture or culling of dogs and claimed the panchayat would support the police in its investigation.
The incident comes just a month after police in Hassan district arrested seven people, including a woman, for killing 38 macaque monkeys in Chowdenahalli on July 29. 38 bonnet macaques monkeys were poisoned to death and found stuffed in a gunny bag at a road junction at Belur taluk in Hassan district. One monkey managed to escape and was spotted sitting near the gunny bag.
The Karnataka high court on July 30 initiated Public Interest Litigation (PIL) proceedings, after taking suo moto cognizance of media reports on the deaths. Describing the incident as ‘disturbing’ the Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, and Justice NS Sanjay Gowda gave orders for the Registrar General to register a suo motu PIL in the matter.
The investigation also found that the accused had not planned to kill the monkeys but had hired a couple, known to be experts in monkey-catching, after causing damage to areca nut and coffee plantations in Ugane village in Sakaleshpur taluk.
