BENGALURU: About two weeks after the horrific abuse and murder of a neonatal puppy in JP Nagar, it seems like all leads have gone cold. The absconding accused is still at large, with his phone number active, and none of the missing pups has been found yet. Activists associated with the case allege that while authorities have not turned an entirely deaf ear to the issue, few are actually eager to help.
On January 9, a man named Nepal Kiran was caught on camera brutally strangling a neonatal puppy and slamming it against a wall in JP Nagar post midnight. He was later identified as a valet driver from a third-party agency at a fast food outlet. The body of the helpless puppy was found on January 13, while seven more were missing, and are feared dead.
While an FIR was registered against Kiran at Puttenahalli police station, he is yet to be tracked and captured, though his phone number is said to be active.
The recovered body of the dog had broken ribs and a broken spine, according to Manjari Chaitanya, founder of South Bengaluru Cares. The postmortem was conducted by Dr Karthik, who stated that he had shared the findings with the police.
The grievousness of the act is anything but anomalous, according to activists associated with the case, who believe the Supreme Court verdict against stray dogs has opened the floodgates of cruelty against animals. “The Supreme Court has made matters worse for dogs. The verdict has given an upper hand to anyone and everyone.
People have openly been citing the orders, though they have not understood what they actually mean,” says Vikash A Bafna, founder of Friend For Animal Trust. Bafna also rues the lack of support from the police department adding that “one out of 10” from the force cares about the issue.
Activist Priyam Chhetri is not hopeful that the missing puppies will return. “It is very hard to find dogs once they are relocated, especially puppies,” she says.