KOCHI: Four days on, the police are yet to trace the man who abandoned his eight-year-old son as well as 26 purebred dogs he was allegedly rearing illegally at his rented house in Eroor, even as residents and elected representatives claimed to have spotted him during the Athachamayam procession in Tripunithura on Tuesday.
As per the police and residents, Sudheesh S Kumar, who is missing since Sunday night, had been living in the house with his son, a class 4 student for the past six to seven months. As per the residents, he started bringing multiple dogs, including breeds like Siberian husky, terrier and labrador retriever to the house, and was allegedly running an illegal dog breeding centre on the premises. They approached the Tripunithura municipal authorities which issued a notice to Sudheesh on August 7, directing him to remove the dogs within seven days.
“Sudheesh failed to return home on Sunday night. His son alerted his mother, who is in Germany, from his phone. Unable to reach Sudheesh, she contacted the police, who rescued the boy immediately. He is with his maternal relatives in Cherthala,” said P B Satheesan, Illickapady councillor.
T K Sajeev, district secretary, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), confirmed that volunteers rescued the dogs two days later on Tuesday after neighbours reported hearing their distressed cries.
The Hill Palace police, who are yet to register a case, suspect Sudheesh is in the area.
