Society resident held for paying men to hit, take away strays in Gurugram

A resident of Uppal’s Southend, a gated society in Sector 50, was Monday arrested under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, for allegedly paying four men to beat and take away four stray dogs earlier this month, the police said.

According to police officials, the main accused, 32-year-old Tarun Kumar, had allegedly paid four men to “get rid of the dogs” as he thought they had become a nuisance for the society. He had allegedly paid them ₹9,000 to carry out the job, the police said. “Kumar said his nephew was once chased by the dogs and that his neighbours were bitten a couple of times,” said Madan, the investigating officer (IO) in the case, who goes by his first name. However, residents of the society, who would feed the stray dogs, said the dogs had been living on the premises for years and had been neutered and vaccinated.

According to the police, Kumar, who owns a business in Sadar Bazar, was identified by the four men, who were arrested on April 17 before being released on bail two days later. “The main accused was missing earlier. However, we were able to track him on Monday and arrest him from the society,” Madan said.

However, the missing dogs are yet found to be found, the police said. “The men dropped the dogs at different spots on the Southern Peripheral Road. They must have wandered away. As such, it is difficult for us to locate them,” added Madan. The police further said Kumar was produced in a court and released on bail.

On April 1, the four men had allegedly entered the society, beaten the dogs, and had taken them away in sacks. Parts of the act were captured by the society’s CCTV camera

However, animal rights activists said that the police should probe the role of the residents’ welfare association (RWA) of Uppal’s Southend as well.

Residents and animal rights’ activists said that in May 2016, a notice had been sent to the then RWA by the Gurugram Chapter of People for Animals. The notice stated the organisation had been receiving complaints that the RWA was trying to shift dogs from the society and warned that any such action would lead to prosecution under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, amended in 2011.

When contacted, Ramesh Bhardwaj, president, RWA, said, “I am not aware of the arrest of a society member. I will look into the matter.” He added neither was he aware of any notice sent to the RWA in 2016 nor was he involved in the matter.