Couple injured after assault by 7 people following argument over pet dog

Seven people were booked for allegedly assaulting a neighbouring couple in Sector 9A after a heated argument over the former’s pet dog. None of the suspects was arrested yet, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place at 7am on Monday when a woman, who resides in a rented accommodation, took her dog out for a walk without a leash. The dog allegedly charged at the woman’s neighbour, Surender Singh (56), who is a staff person posted at Delhi Police headquarters in the Capital. When Singh chased the dog away with a stick, an argument broke out between him and the woman, police said. The woman’s landlord then came to talk to Singh and the argument escalated, police said.

The woman, her husband, their landlord and four of his relatives assaulted Singh and his wife Sudesh (52) with wooden bats and rods, police said. Singh and Sudesh ran back inside their home, so the suspects followed them inside and continued to assault them, police said.

After the suspects left, the couple informed the police control room, police said. Their neighbours took them to the government hospital in Sector-10A for initial treatment from where Singh was shifted to another hospital, police said.

Singh, while talking over the phone from a private hospital in Sector 51, said both his legs and left hand were fractured.

“Doctors said I will have to undergo surgeries. My wife also received a head injury,” he said.

A senior police officer said the dog owner’s landlord got a First Information Report (FIR) registered against Singh and his wife under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 9A police station on Tuesday night. On Singh’s complaint, a counter FIR was registered against the couple, their landlord and his four relatives under similar sections, said police.

“It is the police staff person and his wife who sustained severe injuries. Singh has suffered multiple fractures. We will soon collect a medical report from the hospital. We will also check with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram for the dog’s registration and its breed,” said a police officer.

The officer added that the dog had charged at Singh and other neighbours on earlier occasions.

“Arguments had broken out on previous occasions between Singh and the family about the dog, which they used to take out on the road without a leash,” said the officer.

Inspector Manoj Kumar, station house officer of the Sector9A police station, said investigation was underway.