The Madurai city police apprehended a 32-year-old individual on Wednesday for subjecting a stray dog to cruelty, involving the use of an iron pipe and dragging the animal with a metal wire near Tamil Sangam Road, the Times of India reported Friday. Shockingly, this incident marks the second act of brutality towards stray dogs within two days in Madurai, with the previous episode involving the poisoning of several strays on Tuesday. The accused, identified as M Palaniappan of Karumbalai, has been taken into custody in connection with this disturbing incident.
In an appalling incident on Wednesday afternoon, he was apprehended tying the legs of a stray dog with a metal wire and dragging it along the road in Karumbalai. Resorting to further cruelty, he struck the dog with an iron pipe. Bala, an animal welfare activist, intervened to rescue the distressed dog, but Palaniappan defended his actions by falsely claiming the dog had rabies.
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The distressing incident was captured on video, subsequently going viral on social media. Murugeswari, an honorary member of the Animal Welfare Board, lodged a complaint with the Anna Nagar police. Palaniappan now faces charges under Section 11 (1) (a) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act and Section 428 of the IPC for causing harm to an animal.
Stray dog had killed chickens: accused
Justifying his actions, Palaniappan alleged that the stray dog had killed a few chickens. The injured dog received necessary treatment at the Government Veterinary Hospital. This disturbing incident follows another act of cruelty on Tuesday, where unidentified individuals poisoned several stray dogs in Valar Nagar, resulting in the tragic death of eight dogs.
Mayur Hassija, an animal welfare activist, stressed the urgency of establishing a Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in each district, overseen by the district collector. Hassija emphasized that active SPCAs are crucial in addressing the issue of stray dogs, discouraging individuals from taking the law into their own hands and causing harm to animals.
