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Nearly 500 stray dogs were allegedly killed and buried in different parts of Telangana in the past week, according to an animal rights activist who has lodged complaints with police in Kamareddy, Hanamkonda, and Jagtial districts.
Most of the accused are newly elected gram panchayat leaders who had promised voters that they would solve the problems caused by stray dogs and monkeys in their villages if voted to power. A total of seven FIRs have been registered against sarpanches over incidents of culling.
Based on complaints from Goutham Adulapuram, Animal Cruelty Prevention Manager with the NGP Stray Animal Foundation of India, FIRs have been registered at the Machareddy police station in Kamareddy district, and Shyampet police station of Hanamkonda district.
Police investigating the case in Shyampet exhumed over a 100 carcasses, according to Parkal Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Satish Babu. The Hindu reported that in Kamareddy too, around 250 carcasses were exhumed.
In Kamareddy, the sarpanches of Bhavanipet, Palwancha, Faridpet, Wadi and Bandarameshwarpally have been booked for allegedly getting around 200 dogs killed in their villages, by hiring a man named Kishore Pandey from Andhra Pradesh.
In Hanamkonda, the sarpanches and their husbands, upa sarpanches, panchayat secretaries and others of Shyampet and Arepally villages were booked for allegedly getting around 300 dogs killed by hiring two individuals.
In Dharmapuri, Jagtial district, an FIR has been registered over the alleged killing of another 30 dogs.
According to Goutham, the dogs were killed by administering poisonous injections.
“During the gram panchayat elections (held in December), some candidates had promised to get rid of stray dogs and monkeys as part of their manifesto. We exhumed around 80 to 100 bodies of dogs in Shyampet, and 20 to 30 bodies in Arepally. Post-mortem examinations have been conducted on these bodies. There was a stray dog problem in these areas and a demand from the public to deal with it, but culling is not the solution. NGOs have suggested using panchayat funds for animal birth control or setting up dedicated feeding areas for dogs,” the ACP told the media.
The accused have been booked under Section 325 (mischief by killing or maiming animal) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and relevant sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act.