Animal Lovers Dragged On Road, Detained For Protesting Against SC Order On Stray Dogs In Delhi: VIDEO

New Delhi: Several animal rights activists and dog lovers were detained by Delhi Police on Monday evening after they gathered at Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate, around 7:00 PM, to protest a Supreme Court order directing the Delhi government and civic bodies to promptly remove street dogs from the Delhi-NCR streets and relocate them to dog shelters within 8 weeks.

Visuals emerged from the national capital showing police dragging protesters and placing them into police vans during the demonstration. A woman at the scene shared a video, calling it the "real face of Delhi Police." In the video, she was also heard saying, "Aur vote do, BJP ko vote do," which roughly translates to, "Go ahead, keep voting for BJP."

Animal Rights Activist Maneka Gandhi, speaking on the Supreme Court's order said,"This judgment is a suo motu case, which means nobody complained; the judge took it up on his own. We were expecting something like this anyway. Now, if this order is to be followed, it would mean rounding up three lakh dogs in Delhi and placing them in centres. The Delhi government would need to find 1,000–2,000 centres, as too many dogs together would fight."

"They would first need land, then construct facilities within eight weeks, costing at least Rs 4-5 crore, with caretakers, feeders, and watchmen to prevent escapes. This judgment seems to lack rational thought and stems from anger. Strangely, the order is based on a newspaper report of a child killed by dogs, but the family has confirmed the child died of meningitis," she added.

"Pick up dogs from all localities and shift them to shelter homes. For the time being, forget the rules," the bench directed. "Immediate steps need to be taken to take care of the menace of dog bites leading to rabies," the bench ordered.

The top court said the directions are issued in the larger public interest, adding that children should not, under any circumstances, fall prey to stray dog bites leading to rabies.

The SC also warned that if any person or organisation obstructs the authorities from picking up stray dogs, strict action will be taken against them.