In a sickening incident of animal cruelty, three puppies were burnt to death by unknown persons in an open plot in Kapra in Hyderabad on Sunday. The incident came to light after a resident in the locality alerted the members of the People for Animals (PFA), an animal welfare organisation. The puppies are believed to have been burnt alive. While three died on the spot, the fourth puppy that received serious burns is battling for life at a nearby veterinary hospital.
A heart-wrenching video of the mother dog wailing at the death of its three puppies has gone viral on WhatsApp. In the clip, the mother can be seen sobbing, looking at the charred bodies of the three pups. However, the animal's grief and the cruelty inflicted on its pups have not moved the police enough to file an FIR yet.
In a complaint filed with the Kushaiguda police, the members of PFA say that they were informed of the incident by Laxminarayana, a resident of Ganesh Nagar in Kapra. “Our volunteers immediately rushed to the spot and found three out of the four puppies had died and the fourth one was immediately shifted to a nearby veterinary hospital for medication, where it is now being treated,” the complaint reads.
“The police visited the spot and have taken cognisance of the issue. We don’t know who has done this gruesome murder and we have asked the police to verify the CCTV cameras in the area,” Dattatreya Joshi of PFA told the Times of India.
PFA has requested the police to investigate the matter and take stringent action against the anti-social elements. “It is totally unacceptable, unconstitutional and illegal under Section 11 (1) A of the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act 1960 and IPC 429,” the complaint states.
Activist say that an FIR is yet to be filed by the police and that there is a similar pattern of negligence when it comes to atrocities targeting animals in the city. When TNM tried reaching the Kushaiguda police where the PFA has filed the complaint, the SI refused to acknowledge the matter and passed on the buck to the nearby police station at Neredmet. The cops have refused to clarify whether an FIR has been filed on the case yet.
“This is not an isolated case. We have had similar cases in the past, too,” says Pennarru Teja, a city-based animal activist. “People are becoming crueler with animals day by day. We need more awareness campaigns to sensitise people and this kind of cruelty towards animals cannot tolerated,” he adds.
Two years ago, 8 youngsters were detained by the Musheerabad police for burning three puppies alive at a graveyard in Hyderabad. “We did it for fun,” the boys had told the police who were investigating the case.
Recently, 100 stray dogs were found poisoned and set ablaze in a township in Hyderabad in October. In August, five beheaded puppy carcasses were found in a sewage tunnel in the city.