Courtesy: Daily News & Analysis
Post-mortem nails dog ‘killer’; Maneka Gandhi helps complainants
Deepa Suryanarayan / DNA
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 1:53
When the residents of Mangal Aadesh Society in Santa Cruz (East) found the stray dog they had adopted 10 years ago lying dead in their building compound, they decided to see that the culprit was brought to book.
Angered by the incident, members of the 28 flats in the society insisted that a post-mortem be performed on the dog and even roped in the help of animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi.
“On May 8, one of the society members, Farooque Yusuf Ragaria, ran his car over the society dog, Sammy, and wounded him,” said Meenakshi Shedde, a resident. “When we confronted him, he threatened to kill the second society dog, Diana. This shows that Sammy’s death was not an accident, but a deliberate murder.”
Shedde said they registered a complaint with the Vakola police after Sammy died on May 11.
“To get more evidence, we sent Sammy’s body for a post-mortem to the Bombay Veterinary College (Parel Animal Hospital). The report concluded that the dog had ‘died of massive trauma on the right side of the body’,” said Nandini Sen Sharma, secretary of the society.
Shedde also wrote to Maneka Gandhi asking for help. “She responded to my email in 48 hours, and within three days the culprit was arrested by the police and taken to court,” she said.
Gandhi informed Suresh Kadam, assistant secretary of the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA), who sent his team to ensure action from the Vakola police station.
“We arrested the accused on Saturday under Section 428 (mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal) of the IPC. He was produced in the metropolitan court on the same day and was released on bail,” said sub-inspector M Ingle of Vakola police station. “We have recorded the statements of the chairman, secretary and a few other society members. We will also be talking to the eyewitnesses,” he said.
According to locals, Ragaria is a habitual offender. “Numerous police complaints have been registered against him for criminal intimidation and sexual harassment. Hence, the dog case must not be seen in isolation as a stray case,” said a member of the managing committee on condition of anonymity.
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