It is common for pet dogs to go missing or be stolen. But in a bizarre incident, a veterinarian in Madurai has been accused of holding a pet dog ‘hostage’ and allegedly fleecing its owner.
Police in Anna Nagar were initially reluctant to register a case on a complaint filed by the owner, P R Susila, a widowed teacher residing at Sourashtra Teachers’ Colony. However, after the lady knocked at the doors of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, the police swung into action and registered an FIR on Friday against the veterinarian, Dr V Shankaralingam, who ran the Shiny Clinic (for pets) at Anna Nagar.
In her petition, Susila said that she had taken her pet dog of Kombai breed, ‘Rahul’, to the Shiny Clinic in January this year when it had fallen sick. Dr Shankaralingam had performed a surgery on the dog stating that it was ferocious and charged fees ranging between `1,100 and `4,000 on three occasions.
“Subsequently, the doctor demanded `6,550 saying it was necessary to leave the dog in the custody of the Blue Cross for five days so that it could be ‘tamed’. The petitioner grew suspicious and demanded that her dog be discharged from the clinic. But the veterinarian refused and, instead, demanded an additional `20,000 to discharge the dog,” Susila’s counsel Muthukumar contended.
When Susila lodged a complaint with the Anna Nagar Police, the personnel there failed to act on it immediately.
Meanwhile, the Inspector of the station informed the judge on Thursday that he would deal with the complaint in accordance with law.
Justice A Selvam, before whom the case came up for hearing, disposed of the petition. On Thursday night, the police booked Dr Shankaralingam for offences under Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code (Punishment for Criminal Breach of Trust).