Last year, Tamil Nadu caught the eye of the national media, after two medical students threw a dog, later named Bhadra, from the terrace of a building. Outrage from animal activists and public alike, forced the final year students to surrender to the police. But clearly no lessons have been learnt.
Less than a year after this shocking incident, yet another instance of brutality has emerged. Chennai based animal activist Ashwath has uploaded a video of a man beating a dog to death, even as two children encourage him. The dog is on a leash and is calmly standing near another man when the accused, a middle-aged man, comes out with a wooden stick. He then proceeds to beat the dog, ignoring its cries of pain.
While the dog initially attempts to break free, it soon begins to give up as the blows get harder. The animal then goes limp, its head resting in a pool of blood, when the accused begins to walk back into his house. The video has two children in the back ground, and one child can be heard telling the man in the beginning to beat the dog. The man then proceeds to beat the dog again till it becomes completely stationary. The accused then drags the dog away by its leash.
Neither the accused nor the location of this crime has been identified but Ashwath, who received the video from a friend through WhatsApp has filed a complaint regarding the incident. His friendly reportedly got the video on March 17. So, activists, are suspecting that the incident took place within the first two weeks of this month.
"We are sure that the video is from Tamil Nadu but not sure where exactly it has been taken. Ever since I put up the post, I have received several calls from Coimbatore and people are saying that the dialect of the people talking in the video belong to their region," says the activist. "I have filed a complaint online with the Central Crime Branch because we don't know who the man in the video is. We will be also visiting the Police Commissioner regarding the matter," he said.
Ashwath, in his last nine years of animal activism has received several videos displaying such cruelty to animals, but the brutality in this particular clip has shocked him. "I have never seen something so terrible. The children are actually egging on that man to kill the dog. It is brutal," he says.
Activist Shravan Krishnan, who had been part of a small team of animal lovers who had found Bhadra and nursed her back to health in July last year, points out that the lack of stringent laws made it near impossible to punish people for such crimes. "The two medicos who hurt Bhadra were let out on bail after paying only Rs.50. They then had to pay Rs.2 lakh each to the Animal Welfare Board of India and now they will soon be doctors," he explains.
The two men were charged under Section 428 and 429 of the IPC, besides the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. "The current legislation was framed in 1960 and is archaic. Plus, if we take the perpetrator to the police, they will say that they are poor and we should just let them go. You don't have to rich or poor to be compassionate. You only have to be a human being," he concludes angrily.
Note: If you think you can identify the person in the video, watch it on Sharavan Krishnan's FB page. Viewer's discretion is advised.