In a shocking case of animal cruelty, a dog has allegedly been beaten to death in Hyderabad’s Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO) colony’s sector B. The animal lovers who brought this case to light suspect that the security guards and the gardener of the colony are behind this brutal act and that they were acting on the orders of the President of the colony, a retired Colonel, and other colony residents. On Tuesday morning, the dog was found lying dead next to a car, bleeding from the mouth. The group of animal rights activists were informed about the same, but by the time they arrived a couple of hours later, the dog had already been buried.
Speaking to TNM, Sanjana Raheja, an animal lover who was caring for the dog explained, “Aparajita Singh, a tenant in the same colony used to feed the dog and take care of them. As she had to leave the city due to a family obligation, so for the last two weeks some of us have been feeding the three street dogs. The tenant in the colony who was taking care of the pups sterilized and vaccinated them before she left. The President of the colony’s association had warned people against feeding or caring for the street dogs. We wanted to befriend the dogs and get them out of the colony so we began feeding them hoping to rescue them.”
A day before the dog was beaten to death as well, the group had a word with Col KKD Prasad. “He had assured us that he wouldn’t harm the dogs in any way. Meanwhile, we promised Col KKD Prasad that we would get the puppies adopted in a few days’ time. While we managed to get one adopted on Saturday, the other two mysteriously went missing."
According to Sanjana, noticing that her pups had been taken away, the mother dog got ferocious and bit two to three people. The people of the colony had informed this group of animal lovers that around seven people were bitten, but based on enquiries made by the group of activists, two people had been bitten. Prithvi Ravishankar, Vaidehi Acharya and Varun Chhabria are the other animal lovers who were taking turns to feed the stray dogs.
When TNM contacted Retd Col KKD Prasad for a comment, he said, “Thank you for your call, I am busy with other work," before hanging up.
Varun Chhabria has now filed a complaint at the Karkhana Police Station. He said, “I went to the Karkhana Police Station and had a word with the concerned police. They have assured me that a case will be registered.”
The animal rights supporters have provided TNM audio recordings of the President.
“If we don’t walk (exercise) we may get COVID-19. Between COVID-19 and the dog, personal life is more important for anybody. Even a soldier makes the other one die for his country and not himself. So, we will try to kill, we will kill, that is our attitude. If in anger, we will be forced to do it, remember that. You continue your thing, as far as I am concerned, I have informed them (colony residents) to protect themselves," Col KKD Prasad could be heard saying in the recording.
When asked why it is important that the cops take action against those who killed the dog, Varun said, “Considering the importance that is usually given to the well-being of animals, I don’t really feel we can get justice for the lost soul. However, having got support from fellow animal lovers and media, I wish justice will be served at least this time. Moreover, it is important to make sure that such instances are minimised in the future because I believe every living being has an equal right to live and be a part of the society.”
Meanwhile, the group is now on the lookout for a loving home or a farmhouse that would be willing to adopt two other dogs that are from the same colony. They have put a request out on social media, hoping to find them a home.
