Two men arrested for 'brutally' killing stray dog in J&K's Srinagar: police

The two men have been arrested from Rainawari area of Srinagar where rabid dogs recently bit two persons in recent days.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): In an interesting development, District Police Srinagar on Sunday arrested two men for allegedly killing a stray dog near Badamwari, Rainawari area of the district, an official said. The accused have been identified as Gulzar Ahmad Beigh of Rehmaniya colony, Lal Bazar and Adnan Shah of Hawal Badamwari.

“2 persons arrested for cruelty and brutally killing a stray dog near Badamwari Rainawari on 21- 07-2023. FIR No 29/2023 U/S 429 IPC & sec 11 (1) of PCA Act registered in PS Rainawari. Sources said that the arrests were made after a purported video of the incident went viral on social media. It is noteworthy to mention here that the Rainawari area from where the arrests were made has been in news lately where rabid dogs are on the prowl and have bitten at least two persons.

Pertinently, on Apr. 26 this year, the District Police Srinagar had arrested a man for inflicting “cruelty” on a dog by dragging it along the foreshore road on the banks of Dal Lake by tying the animal with his scooty. The video of the alleged incident had also gone viral on social media after which the police took cognizance of the matter.

A spokesman of Srinagar police had said, "There is a viral video wherein a bike rider had tied a dog & was dragging this dog. FIR 31/2023 u/s 429 IPC & sec 11 of prevention of cruelty to animals act was registered at Nishat PS. Accused Ab Rashid Dar S/o Gh Rasool Dar of Gaw Marg Shalimar arrested. Scooty also seized."

Significantly, BJP MP Maneka Gandhi during her visit to Srinagar in June this year, had impressed on the authorities to uphold animal rights. It noteworthy that according to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, the number of stray dogs in the city has exceeded one lakh with dog bite cases reported every now and then.

On May 28 this year, a 10-year-old boy, Ahmed bin Javed, died in Batamaloo area of Srinagar after he was chased by a stray dog. While running for his life, the boy fell into a drain, leaving him severely injured. He eventually died on June 10. According to official data, last year, 4695 people were seriously injured by stray dogs in the Kashmir valley.

Srinagar had the highest number of 3448 cases. In the last one decade, 60,000 people have been bitten by dogs in the valley. Last month, the SMC set up a dog sterilization center in Tengpoora area on city outskirts.