After confessing to having thrown stones at a dog in Maduravoyal, a 27-year-old man from Chennai man will now have to perform community service with the Blue Cross for at least four weekends.
Writing for the Times of India, Sindhu Kannan reported:
The man, Vinoth Kumar, is employed in a shop supplying water cans in the locality. On Saturday night, at around 8pm, he was walking towards the shop, when a five-year-old stray dog barked at him. The youth pelted stones at the dog, leaving it with bleeding injuries in the left eye. Residents informed the police and the dog was taken to Madras Veterinary Hospital in Vepery for treatment.
Following a police complaint, Vinoth was detained and he confessed to having assaulted the dog. He also alleged that it had attempted to bite him.
Besides issuing an apology letter and agreeing to pay Rs 5,000 for the treatment of the dog, Vinoth was also asked to work with Blue Cross on any four weekends of his choice.
Speaking to TOI, Kamal Banger, owner of pet cab service Wagging Tails, who registered the police complaint, said:
"We opted for this, because we thought he should feel the pain undergone by these pets...We need to teach people, who harm dogs, the value of life and that can only come by helping them develop a sense of compassion."
Earlier this year, many animal rights activists had protested after two medical students filmed themselves throwing a dog off their terrace in Chennai.
The man who threw the dog off the terrace was identified as Gautam S, a final year student from Madha Medical college. The other medical student who was involved in the incident was Ashish Paul.
They were arrested by the police but later granted bail. They were subsequently told to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh each with the Madras High Court for torturing the dog.