BENGALURU: The two men accused of strangling a dog by a witness and an NGO claim they were trying to help the dog lying wounded in the middle of the Dommasandra Road where heavy vehicles were running in full speed. Ashim (name changed) and his family were on the way to Greenwood High school to pick up their 11-year-old son’s uniform when they say, they saw a brown dog lying helplessly in the middle of the road. Ashim and his wife are the members of a dog lovers group and he says it was impossible to ignore the sight.
“We did not know if the dog was hit or suffering from sun stroke,” says Bindu (name changed) wife of Ashim. “We went to look at the dog and thought it was a hit and run case because it was bleeding from the nose. We moved it to the side of the road, away from the traffic.”
Ashim adds, “The dog was still breathing and had pooped blood.”
Their son who was inside the car was searching for a nearby hospital and the couple were trying to look for help from their contacts and they found Vinod (name changed) who runs a boarding for dogs near the area. While Bindu and the rest were in a hurry to collect the uniform, Ashim stayed back with the dog. Vinod reached the spot in less than 10 minutes.
“He came with the stick that I’ve seen most dog rescuers use and I immediately knew the guy was an expert and knew what he was doing,” says Ashim. “By then the dog had started gasping and had pooped again in the sidewalk... We decided to take it to the nearest vet, but I did not think it could make it.” Ashim had not examined the dog closely until then because he thought it would either bite or may be infectious, he says. He had only dragged the dog by its hind legs to the sidewalk.
“Now I noticed the dog had stopped breathing,” says Ashim. Vinod got a cloth and draped the dog to carry it. Vinod says, “It’s heart was still beating but it soon died in my arms.”
Then Shobha (name changed) came to the location and asked why they had killed the dog. Ashim had taken off to a near dhaba and Vinod, disturbed by her questioning, admits to have called her a “moron” and lifted a middle finger.
“In the moment the tragedy had occurred, a lady in Innova clicked a picture of my car and accused me of killing the dog,” says Vinod. “I tried reasoning with her, but I could not, so I left the scene.”
The City Express had reported on June 1 that Shobha had lodged an FIR against the two men. The two accused reached out to CE the next day and narrated their side of the story. Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), an NGO for animals, says the FIR will be withdrawn when evidence is shown to the police. A two-minute video taken from the Vinod’s Dashcam stands as the evidence where a call from distressed Bindu is recorded calling about the wounded dog.