An ugly battle between animal lovers and the society management has erupted around the death of a stray dog inside United India Apartments, a co-operative group housing society in Mayur Vihar Phase I Extension.
According to a resident who had witnessed the incident, an injured stray dog had entered the society on the evening of May 19. “The dog took shelter under a parked car. It was clearly scared and trying to find a safe spot. But a security guard chased the dog out and beat it up badly with a stick. Maybe he was scared it would attack someone,” the resident said, on condition of anonymity.
According to Sneha Dogra, an animal lover from Vasundhara Enclave who was informed about the incident by a resident Rahul Mohay, said, “The dog was so badly beaten up — not by one but ten people — that its internal organs had exploded. When a resident called an ambulance to take the dog to Friendicoes, the animal shelter straightaway told us that its chances of survival were almost zero. The dog died in the early hours of May 20.”
However, Mohay, who also claims to be an animal lover, said, “An office member informed me of what was happening. I came down from my flat and had an argument with the security guards. Then I called Friendicoes to send in an ambulance, but the dog had already died by then.”
Dogra claims Mohay is lying about the incident and that the dog was still alive when it reached Friendicoes. “Rahul, along with another activist involved in the matter, Nimisha, have switched sides to the society management and are now helping it wriggle out of the issue.”
Interestingly, the conflict has now grown from being just between the society and animal lovers, to these two opposing parties.
Dogra, along with a friend Pragati Khanna, have handed over a written complaint to the Mayur Vihar police station, asking for justice for the murdered animal. They are currently waiting for a post mortem report from Sanjay Gandhi Animal Hospital.
When City Spidey spoke to Dogra, she said, “Initially, Nimisha had asked the society to pay for the post-sterilisation care of 50 dogs as compensation, which amounted to Rs 90,000. However, since the society didn't want to pay the hefty amount, Nimisha drastically brought down the compensation to just 20 kg of dog food every month for three months and Rs 500 deduction from the salaries of the guards responsible for the murder. I am not OK with this. I will take the matter to court. This can't be compensation for the torture and murder of an animal. The society has to understand it can’t get away that easily.”
“Rahul and Nimisha are trying to sell me the idea by saying they are protecting the other dogs near the society by keeping the matter low-profile," she added. "They have even threatened us by saying that if any other dog they care for near the society is injured or poisoned, they will hold us responsible, since we are taking legal action against the society.”
When City Spidey tried to speak to Rahul Mohay and Nimisha, they refused to comment on the matter.
Purusottam Das Bhatt, president of the United India Apartments managing committee, however, said, “We held a meeting with the animal lovers and condemned the cruel act. We have apologised to them, but Rs 90,000 is too much. When I asked these animal activists which NGO they worked for, they had no answer. We have cooperated so far but we will now lodge a complaint against them for extortion.”
However, Dogra does not seem one to back off and remains firm on her decision to take the matter to court.
