500 stray dogs killed in Telangana villages in 7 days to 'fulfill panchayat poll promise'

(Representative image)

• Around 500 stray dogs killed in Telangana villages in one week, police report
• Sarpanches and others face charges for alleged involvement in killings
• Supreme Court weighs higher compensation for dog-bite cases amid growing concern

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In a fresh incident of stray dog killings, around 200 canines were allegedly killed in Telangana’s Kamareddy district, taking the toll to about 500 in the last one week, police said on Tuesday.

Sources from villages said (some) elected representatives, including sarpanches, allegedly carried out the killings to "fulfill promises made to villagers" during the recent gram panchayat elections to tackle the stray dog menace.

Police said a case has been registered against six persons, including five village sarpanches, for their alleged involvement in the incident.

Earlier, police in Hanamkonda district had booked nine persons, including two women sarpanches and their husbands, in connection with the alleged killing of around 300 stray dogs in Shayampet and Arepally villages.

"Ahead of the gram panchayat elections held in December last year, some candidates promised villagers they would tackle the stray dog and monkey menace. They are now allegedly ‘fulfilling’ those promises by killing stray dogs," sources said.

The carcasses were buried on the outskirts of villages, police said, adding that veterinary teams exhumed the bodies and conducted post-mortem examinations.

Viscera samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory to determine the exact cause of death and the type of poison used, a senior police official told PTI.

Notices have been issued to the accused, police said.

Animal welfare activist Adulapuram Goutham, in a complaint lodged at Machareddy police station on Monday, said he received information that nearly 200 stray dogs were killed over the past two to three days in five villages of Palwancha mandal in Kamareddy district.

He alleged the killings were carried out at the behest of the sarpanches of the five villages, who reportedly hired a person to administer poisonous injections.

Goutham said he visited Bhavanipet village, where he found dog carcasses dumped, and later learnt that similar acts of cruelty had taken place in Palwancha, Faridpet, Wadi and Bandarameshwarapally villages.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act against six persons, including the five sarpanches, a Kamareddy police official said.

Earlier, around 300 stray dogs were allegedly poisoned to death over three days from January 6 in Shayampet and Arepally villages of Hanamkonda district. Police had registered a case against nine persons, including sarpanches, gram panchayat secretaries and two hired persons.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would consider directing states to pay "heavy compensation" for dog-bite incidents and hold dog feeders accountable, expressing concern over the lack of implementation of norms related to stray animals over the past five years.