By: Udaya Kumar
SHIVAMOGGA: More than 100 stray dogs were allegedly poisoned and buried in a village off Bhadravati taluk in Shivamogga district, and police have booked a case against jurisdictional gram panchayat officers in the case.
The incident comes barely weeks after 150 monkeys were killed and abandoned in a village in Hassan district, drawing attention of the Karnataka high court which sought action against the miscreants.
The latest incident involving dogs took place in Ranganathapura of Kambadalalu-Hosur grama panchayat in Bhadravati taluk, about 270km from Bengaluru, on Monday.
Acting on a tipoff from villagers who sensed something amiss, members of Shivamogga Animal Rescue Club visited the place on Tuesday evening and removed the carcasses with help from veterinarians and cops.
Case filed against panchayat officials
The activists filed a complaint with Bhadravati Rural police on Wednesday against GP officials, expressing doubts that some dogs may have been buried alive.
Shivamogga SP Laxmi Prasad told GP authorities allegedly killed the dogs and buried them. He confirmed a case has been filed against the panchayat authorities. He said an expert team comprising veterinarians is conducting an inspection of the spot and will soon submit a report to the department. He said there was no information about the number of dogs killed and buried.
Calling it a ‘heinous crime’, Prasad B of Shivamogga Animal Rescue Club said a majority of the dogs may have been poisoned to death.
