In a gruesome incident, a security guard of Delhi Technological University (DTU) beat up a street dog to death with a stick in outer Delhi’s Rohini area on Thursday.
A student, who recorded the gory video in which the guard can be seen hammering the dog’s head with a stick till it died of bleeding, uploaded it on the social media, attracting animal lovers outrage.
Also, he shared the video with animal rights activists, who in turn got in touch with NGO People For Animals (PFA).
PFA’s Saurabh Gupta, who is also a member of the Animal Welfare Board, lodged a complaint with police and a case under Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was registered at Shahbad Dairy Police Station in Rohini.
Gupta, who also went to DTU accompanied by animal lovers and activists, alleged that a few dead dogs were found outside room number 110 of CV Raman hostel on Thursday.
Gupta said the guard, identified as Satish Kumar and some of the other guards had killed many dogs on the order of the DTU administration and the security in-charge. He suspected that the carcass of the dog had been buried somewhere on the campus.
“I request that a case be registered against officer Nitin Puri, security guard Satish Kumar, hostel caretaker Rakesh Mishra and Assistant Professor Raghvender Gautam,” Gupta said in his complaint to the police.
A senior police officer said the investigation had begun into the case but the accused guard was at large.
Meanwhile, Anoop lathar, DTU’s PRO said, “The dog was probably infected by rabies and had bitten 12-15 people. The victims include our male and female students, our staffers and their children.”
Ankita, another animal lover, told The Pioneer that when they went to DTU to enquire about the incident, no one helped them.
“DTU Vice-Chancellor did not even talk to us for a minute. We enquired about the body of the dog, but no one divulged any details. We demanded to know the whereabouts of the guard but the whole day went by and no one told us anything. It seems he has fled. Some DTU students said the dogs were killed because they had rabies.”
The constant enquiry of the activists also enraged some students who started getting extremely abusive.
Ayesha Christina who works for an NGO Neighbourhood Woof, that looks after the welfare of street dogs, uploaded the video on Facebook along with a long post.
“Right now, we will not compromise and are united on two points: The guard be handed over to police and that the person/authority who instructed the guard be caught and booked as well. While we agree that dog bites are a problem, the crime in question is in no way going to be forgiven or tolerated. The SHO has assured me that he will update me about the progress in the investigation as well. The DTU administration has also conceded that this crime is unpardonable and will cooperate in the proceedings,” the post said.
Christina further said, “I explained to the administration that all dog and dog bite related issues can be discussed. As the organization responsible for this side of town, I will personally handle the issue. Neighbourhood Woof will get the dogs on the campus sterilized and vaccinated.”