Mumbai: Animal rights activists plan protest over gruesome dog beating

Animal rights activists have organized a rally near Worli on Tuesday to protest the physical assault on a male dog in a building in Worli last week. Due to the excessive physical torture, the dog is experiencing seizures and is put on a urine catheter. He is semi-conscious and eating through a tube and has shown certain signs of movement but unable to respond to visual and hearing tests.

The incident happened on July 24, when a resident of the Turf View building in Mumbai, allegedly asked the watchmen to beat up the dog in such a manner that no other animal dares to enter the apartment premises in the future.

Poonam Samtani, Co-Founder of Bombay Animal Rights and her team of rescuers are handling the dog's medical expenses. Poonam has expressed frustration at the inhumane behaviour meted out to the innocent animal.

"What kind of a world are we living in where monsters like him are abusing animals and laughing? The Modi government has taken initiatives for cow protection. Such initiatives should extend to dogs as well," said Poonam. She added that she faced verbal abuse at the hands of the watchman who complained that local feeders and others litter the place and cause a nuisance to other residents.

"The FIR was lodged immediately. The police are actively investigating this matter and promise to bring the guilty to justice. We will charge them under the IPC section 429 for animal cruelty. For now, the offenders are out on bail," said Sukhlal Warpe, Senior Police Inspector, Worli Police Station.

The animal rights group have given a call to action for other animal rights stakeholders to join the protest. The activists are demanding animal cruelty to be made a non-bailable offence.

Reacting to the viral CCTV footage of the incident, many Bollywood celebrities expressed anger and resentment on social media. Anushka Sharma took to Instagram to share the images and wrote, "The inhumanity of this act is just unbelievable. This is the time for our community to step up and find a way to help get justice to a soul that can't stand up for himself. If there is any way one can reach out to help, this is the time." John Abraham shared an update about the incident on Twitter and called for animal lovers to stage a protest in front of the Turf View building.