E-Paper
Two women booked for locking up 20-30 cats in Kondhwa flat
The women, however, claim that they took care of the cats and were in the process of shifting the cats to a better place when the society members complained against them.
The Kondhwa police, on Tuesday, booked two women, identified as Dipika Kapoor (51) and Sangeeta Kapoor (42), for causing public nuisance by neglecting the health of 20-30 cats by locking them in a flat at a housing society in Kondhwa.
Sangeeta, however, claims that they took care of the cats and were in the process of shifting the cats to a better place when the society members complained against them. “We had run into major financial debts, but had made sure that the cats were taken care of. We have been taking care of the cats for the past 10 years,” Sangeeta said.
The women had kept the cats in flat number A-3-20 of Brahma Horizon Society of Kondhwa. As the cats were in captivity for months, residents of the society complained about hygiene issues due to the excreta of the 20-30 cats. The resulting foul smell from their residence had been causing inconvenience to the people living in the residential society. The women themselves did not live in the flat.
“We spend over ₹50,000 per month on the cats’ welfare. But we ran into some financial trouble after my father passed away in 2015. My mother was blinded a few months after that and my sister was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor,” Sangeeta said.
"The place looked like it had not been cleaned for months when we visited it. The excreta of the cats was overflowing from the balcony and falling on the balconies of the people living around," said assistant police inspector Tasgaonkar, who is investigating the case.
However, Sangeeta Kapoor, a fashion designer by profession, claims that her sister had been undertaking basic cleaning of the flat everyday.
"The first step was to secure the cats. The cats have been handed over to the Animal Welfare Board," API Tasgaonkar said. The cats were residing with the two women from November 2014, according to the complaint filed by Meher Mathrani, who works as the welfare officer at Animal Welfare of India, an organisation run by the Environment and Forest Ministry.
A case under Section 268, for causing public nuisance, and 289, for negligent conduct with animals, of Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with Section 11(1)(c)(j)(h) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 was registered at the Kondhwa police station against the two sisters.
The case for the interim protection of the animals in the case will be heard on September 16, said advocate Harshad Garud, who is representing the sisters in the case. “We want our pets back,” said the emotional designer.
