HYDERABAD: Another 100 stray dogs have been allegedly poisoned to death in Yacharam village of Rangareddy district — about 50 km from Hyderabad — sparking fresh outrage among animal welfare activists. The killings come days after the mass murder of over 500 dogs across three districts in Telangana.It is suspected that here, too, the killings were carried out by professionals, allegedly at the behest of the village sarpanch and his aides. The carcasses of the dogs are yet to be retrieved.
Based on a complaint by Mudavath Preethi of Stray Animal Foundation of India, local police registered a case under BNS Sections 325 read with 3(5) and Sec 11(1)(a)(i) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act (dealing with killing and poisoning of animals by multiple persons) against three people, including the village sarpanch. A ward member and village secretary have also been named accused.According to the complainant, the killings took place on Jan 19 and the carcasses were likely buried outside the village.“We are investigating the case thoroughly. Efforts are also underway to track down where the dog carcasses have been buried,” said A Nandeshwar Reddy, SHO of Yacharam police station.Meanwhile, animal rights activists suspect that much like in the previous instances reported from Kamareddy, Hanumakonda and Jagtial, here too the stray dogs were killed using lethal injections administered by professional “dog killers”.In her complaint, Preethi claimed that conflicting versions from village representatives — when asked about the whereabouts of the missing dogs — raised suspicion.“During a phone conversation with animal welfare activist Deepika Pingali, a ward member claimed that the dogs were relocated. Later, however, when another activist, Adulapuram Goutham, spoke to the same ward member, he said that the dogs were administered anaesthesia injections. Subsequent enquiries with villagers revealed that the dogs were in fact injected with poisonous substances, leading to their death,” the complaint stated.
