BENGALURU: A total of 14 neonatal puppies were inhumanely dumped on Nandi Hills by employees of SJC Institute of Technology (Chikkaballapura) on January 4, of which 13 could be saved by members of Friend for Animal Trust. When confronted, the college staff admitted to the cruel act in writing, vowing to not do anything of the sort in the future.
According to Vikash A. Bafna, founder of the organisation, a passenger travelling in the area saw and recorded three men including a security guard emerge from a van bearing the name of BGS Polytechnic College, and dump the puppies. The puppies, who were estimated to be around 20 days of age, belonged to three lactating mother dogs that live on the college premises.
Bafna and his team, once apprised of the issue, set out to the spot on Sunday (January 4) to rescue them. They had been dumped around 8 kilometres from the compound, right by the Bangalore-Hyderabad Highway (NH44). The terrain of the location is covered in thickets and surrounded by cliff faces, which the team had to scale in order to be able to rescue the animals. Unfortunately, of the 14, one could not be found and another was run over and grievously injured by a vehicle travelling on the aforementioned highway. The injured puppy is being treated at the Friend for Animal Trust facility; the remaining 12 have been reinstated to the college compound to their mothers.
The security guard involved in the incident wrote a letter of admission, which was authorised and co-signed by the college authorities. “The principal of the college said that he was not aware of the developments in question, and promised us that he would see to it that the puppies we returned to them were taken care of,” said Bafna.