Police punish canines for barking at colleague outside CM’s residence, whisk them away overnight
NEW DELHI: It’s a dog’s life for strays outside Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati’s residence in Lucknow.
Policemen posted outside Mayawati’s residence have allegedly taken away stray dogs from outside the chief minister’s house after a dog dared to bark at one of their colleagues. Animal rights activists in the capital have alleged that cops were cruel to the innocent stray dogs because the animals had barked at a cop who had come to meet the CM.
The incident took place between May 20-21 when most of the dogs were suddenly packed into a van and taken away, never to be seen again.
“We have found out that innocent dogs were taken away in a van by the cops after one of the dogs barked at a policeman who had come on a motorbike,” said Anjali Sharma, of Citizens for Animals. “The cop managed to convince the office staff to remove these dogs,” she said. “The worst part of the story is that we don’t even know if the dogs are still alive or they have been killed by the cops,” added Sharma.
Though the office staff of Mayawati’s Humayun Road residence admitted that most dogs have gone missing, they said they had no role to play in the episode. “We still have dogs outside the residence although the count is a little less. These are very friendly animals and are fed by the residents of the area. We too give food to these animals,” said a policeman on condition of anonymity. The cops said local authorities ensure that the animals are well kept and often vaccinate these dogs as a matter of precaution.
With no help coming their way, the activists have now written a letter to Mayawati asking her to intervene and act against the cops involved in the misconduct. “Mayawati is an animal lover and we know that. She should act against the cops who have taken away these animals. Though these dogs were stray, they had never harmed anyone in the area,” added Sharma.
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