CHENNAI: In a shocking incident, a five-month-old puppy (a dachshund breed) was brutally killed with a cricket bat at Royapettah. The dog owner, Manikandan of PM Darga Second Street, has taken the puppy for a walk. As it was entering the street, his neighbour Arumugam’s daughter was waiting at the house entrance. The puppy barked at her and she fell down. Angered by this, Arumugam and his wife picked up a fight with Manikandan and started assaulting him in the middle of the road. In the melee, Arumugam picked up a cricket bat and hit the puppy that was chained to Manikandan’s motorbike, which was recorded in the CCTV camera installed in a shop in the same street.
Though the dog was rushed to the Vepery veterinary hospital, it succumbed to injury around 2.30 pm. A complaint was lodged at the Royapettah Police Station. Manikandan, who works in a private company, said the duo have been neighbours for four years and have been having frequent quarrels.
“All the anger that man had on me... he showed it on the puppy,” he rued. After the incident, Arumugam’s entire family fled the spot. “Inquiries with neighbours revealed that Arumugam always picked fights with pet owners in the locality. He objected to Manikandan also having a dog. “ said an animal activist.