Maneesha*, a 47-year-old animal rescuer from Vadannappally in Kerala’s Thrissur district, died after allegedly being assaulted while working at a stray dog shelter in Bengaluru Rural district. She had been undergoing treatment at Jubilee Mission Medical College Hospital in Thrissur after being brought back from Bengaluru in a ventilator-equipped ambulance on May 5.
Based on a complaint filed by her husband, Shinto, the Thrissur East police registered a case and launched an investigation. The complaint names Deepak Krishnan, a Malayali residing in Sulibele in Bengaluru Rural district, as the accused. Police said he is absconding and efforts are underway to trace him. The case has since been transferred to the Sulibele police station for further investigation.
According to the complaint, Maneesha travelled to Bengaluru on April 17 after accepting a job at a stray dog shelter run by Deepak, who allegedly offered her a monthly salary of Rs 40,000. She travelled with two other women, including a relative, and the three stayed in a small house inside the shelter compound in Sulibele, where around 16 dogs were housed.
The complaint states that Deepak later began behaving inappropriately, following which the women informed him that they wanted to quit the job. It alleges that this was when the physical abuse began. After they told him on the evening of May 3 that they were returning home, he allegedly subjected them to a brutal assault. Maneesha reportedly lost consciousness and was later locked inside the house along with the other women.
The complaint further states that when police initially arrived at the premises, the accused allegedly returned and locked the house from outside again, briefly trapping the officers inside before additional police personnel arrived and rescued those inside. Maneesha was later shifted for treatment.
Maneesha was widely known in Kerala for her work rescuing and caring for stray dogs. Along with her husband, she had been sheltering nearly 160 abandoned and injured dogs at their home in Thalikulam for several years. The couple also fed stray dogs using leftover midday meals collected from schools in the Vadannappally area and carried out their rescue work without institutional support or formal funding.
Actor Parvathy Thiruvothu also drew attention to the incident on social media, calling for accountability and justice. “This man killed her because he couldn't assault her. What a safe country for our girls,” she wrote.
*Name changed to protect identity.