NAGAPATTINAM: A dog was beaten to death in public after it allegedly bit over a dozen people near the New Bus Stand in Nagapattinam on Sunday evening.
The dog belonged to Kumanan who runs a tea and snack shop in the bus stand. According to sources, it used to follow him from his residence near Thamaraikulam Street to the bus stand every day for the past few years. The dog stayed near the shop and fed on the food thrown and littered by customers.
The dog allegedly started to bite those present at the bus stand including customers around 7.30 pm, following which the public ran helter-skelter. Over a dozen people were injured and went to the Government General Hospital located opposite the New Bus Stand for treatment. It is not clear what provoked the dog.
An upset Kumanan allegedly called 'pig catchers' to catch and kill the dog. The dog ran back into his shop but was caught using a snare. It appeared nervous but did not show resistance as it came out of the shop. The dog was then clubbed to death by one of the catchers. It was taken later for burial.
P Egaraj, the commissioner of Nagapattinam Municipality, said, “We have animal catcher vehicles. But we do not have dog catchers. We are not authorised to put down the dogs. We received information, but we did not instruct anyone to kill the dog.”