BENGALURU: The Additional City Civil and Sessions Court has rejected an anticipatory bail plea of a veterinarian involved in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike’s (BBMP’s) Animal Birth Control (ABC) and vaccination programmes of street dogs. The veterinarian—Dr Sadashivappa R Gaddi, has been held responsible for negligence causing the death of a dog that had been picked up along with its two puppies for ABC and vaccination procedures although they were not street dogs and belonged to a JP Nagar resident.
The BBMP entrusts the ABC and vaccination tasks to NGOs, and one such NGO was assigned to
pick up street dogs for the programme.The NGO team while scouting areas of JP Nagar, picked up the female dog and puppies belonging to HK Ganesh, a resident of JP Nagar, assuming them to be street dogs as they were sitting outside the house.
After much arguing, Ganesh had consented for the NGO team to take the dogs and return them safely after the procedures were completed.
However, Ganesh was in for a shock when the NGO team brought the mother and her two pups back a few days later. The mother dog was badly injured and sick because of alleged negligence on the part of the team which conducted the ABC procedures on the three dogs. In a desperate bid to save his beloved pet and return her to her earlier healthy state, Ganesh contacted Dr Gaddi, the doctor who was responsible for the procedures carried on her.
However, Ganesh has alleged that the doctor and his team neither paid any attention to the badly injured dog nor did they respond properly to his appeals to do something to treat her.
A desperate Ganesh, having realised that the NGO team would be of no help to rescue his dog, then decided to take her to a nearby private veterinary clinic. However, the serious nature of the dog’s internal injuries led to the dog’s death despite the treatment given to her.
Ganesh subsequently filed a complaint with the Adugodi police station.
Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on the grounds that the treatment meted out to the dog violated Section 428 of the IPC and Section 11(A) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
But on grounds of apprehension of arrest, Dr Gaddi moved the city court seeking an anticipatory bail. The city civil court took into consideration this matter and on November 2, 2018 rejected the plea for anticipatory bail by the doctor.
The court took notice of the fact mentioned in the FIR that Ganesh had clearly instructed the NGO team to treat the dogs well and return them safely after conducting the procedures.