Police have filed a criminal complaint against four members of a Kandivali (East) housing society for allegedly dumping 15 to 20 stray dogs, including puppies, deep inside the Aarey forest on Sunday.
Animal rights activists who reached Aarey on Tuesday evening after seeing a video of a mini truck dropping the animals in the forest, rescued one dog that night. On Wednesday, they went back and rescued nine animals, including a puppy. Three puppies were found dead with bite marks suspected to be those of a leopard. The rescuers feared that the other puppies could have been picked up by the leopards.
The activists said they will continue the search as their concerns are that the other dogs could starve in the unfamiliar area or be killed by leopards at night. Vijay Rangare, president of animal rights group, People For Animals, and honorary animal welfare officer, said that the police have registered an FIR against four residents of Samarth Nagar Cooperative Housing Society, Hanuman Nagar, under section 11 (1) (a) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act for abandoning an animal in cruel conditions. However, PFA said they have asked the police to add charges under section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita, which prosecutes the accused for maiming animals or rendering them useless. "Aarey has free-roaming leopards. If you abandon an animal in the forest, the intention is clearly to get them killed," said Rangare.
According to the complainant, Sandesh Shirke, a football coach and a PFA activist, they received the video of the van on their social media group. The group made inquiries and tracked the vehicle using its registration number. The FIR was filed on Tuesday evening.
The accused named in the complaint are Divya Vichare, Ravi Jodvekar, Nitin Alkunde, and Rohit Sawant, residents of the building. An official from the Samta Nagar police station said they are investigating the case.
Reshma Shelatkar, an animal rights activist who reached the forest on Tuesday evening, said that she suspects that stray animals and pets are regularly abandoned in the area. "I feed stray dogs whenever I visit the area. I see new dogs every time, and they seem to vanish the next time I go there. They are probably being picked up by leopards," said Shelatkar. "There are hardly any stray dogs in Aarey because it is leopard territory."
The dogs rescued last night will be relocated back to the area from which they were picked up. Rangare said that they will ask the police to get the residents of the area to sign an undertaking that they will not harm the dogs that have been brought back.
