At least 100 stray dogs were allegedly poisoned and their bodies buried in a hole near Perantam tank in Lingapalem village. The village from
West Godavari district, reports this horrifying event.
Some pig farmers living near the Perantam tank noticed a few people burying dog carcasses after digging a pit, according to the available information. The dogs were apparently caught in the village and its surroundings.
After knowing of the horrific conduct, West Godavari District Collector Karthikeya Misra ordered an investigation into the killing of stray dogs on Friday. “This is a cruel act. Some people of the village might have hired dog catchers to eliminate the stray dogs. Some puppies were also killed in the process,” he said.
Animal activist Challapalli Srilata disputed the claim of the panchayat secretary. She said around 300 stray dogs were killed by hired catchers.
“We suspect the involvement of the panchayat sarpanch and his followers in the cruel act,’’ she said and lodged a complaint with the police against the panchayat secretary and sarpanch. The police were initially reluctant to take the complaint, but they registered a case after persuasion, she said.
The animal rights activist also informed the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police about the incident. She also stated that the issue would be discussed with the Animal Welfare Board.
A case has been filed against the Lingapalem panchayat secretary and the sarpanch under Section 11 (L) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and Section 429 (Poisoning an Animal) of the Indian Penal Code, based on a case filed by Srilatha.
Dharmajigudem Sub-Inspector P Ramesh said, “We suspect that the stray dogs might have been poisoned to death and later the carcasses were buried in a pit. Postmortem will be conducted on Saturday.”
