BENGALURU: In what appeared to be an act of deliberate cruelty, a passenger locked a Great Dane inside his car at Kempegowda International Airport on Monday evening. He left the car on a wrong parking lane. When Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) staffers reached it, they found the windows of the black Fiat rolled up, and the dog gasping for breath inside. They broke the windows of the vehicle and saved him.
The flyer, Vikram Ramdass Lingeshwar (41), a resident of Kasturi Nagar in Bengaluru, had booked his ticket for Coimbatore via Mumbai with Akasa Airlines (QP 1138) which had a departure time of 8.50 pm. Airport sources said his Fiat (KA-03-MY-2846) was left unattended on a wrong parking lane since 3.52 pm. “The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) of CISF received a call around 5.45pm about the unattended car. When the team reached the spot, they found a black Great Dane suffocating inside, and bleeding from the nose,” said a source.
CISF dog handler Naveen, sub-inspector B K Muni and Mahesha of the dog squad decided to break the glass windows. “The dog was gasping. He was taken out and given a lot of water to drink. An NGO, Charlie Animal Rescue, was contacted and the dog handed over for further treatment,” a source said.
Airport authorities scanned CCTV footage to identify Lingeshwar as the person who had parked the car.
“He was brought back from the airport to the car and taken to the KIA police station,” the source added.
Airport police said they have filed a case under two sections -- IPC 429 (killing and maiming cattle) and under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. The flyer is out on bail. “The mindset of the passenger is not clear as of now. He locked the dog in the car and decided to fly out of the city,” said an airport source. Investigations are on.