Cases have been filed against two Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials on Sunday after a dog was allegedly dumped on a street with signs of a botched animal birth control (ABC) surgery
The three-year-old dog was found with sutures, bleeding and writhing in pain near the Indira Canteen at Madiwala market on Thursday.
City-based animal rights activist Naveena Kamath, who is also the inspector (animal cruelty), Action for Animal Justice, rushed the dog to a government hospital where it is being treated. She then filed a complaint with the Animal Husbandry Department of the BBMP, and later approached the Madiwala police.
Based on the complaint, the police have filed an FIR against BBMP veterinarian Anand G.; Krishne Gowda, Assistant Director, BBMP, Bengaluru South; and Dilip Bafna, trustee, Animal Right Fund, which was contracted for the ABC programme.
The police on Saturday charged them under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and also under various sections of the IPC.
“This is not the first time that dogs have been subjected to cruelty. Three days ago, a stray dog died in J.P. Nagar after a botched surgery. Another stray dog at Haraluru also died on the streets immediately after surgery,” alleged Ms. Kamath.
She said guidelines state that dogs should be retained in the clinic for post-operative care for a minimum of three days after the surgery, and should be under observation until they recover completely.
However, said activists, BBMP officials routinely dump dogs on the road if a surgery is botched up.
The Madiwala police said they would summon the accused for questioning and take legal action.
Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commission (Health), BBMP, said, “If it is indeed found to be a major lapse, we will initiate action. But, we would like to clarify that with over 200 surgeries a day, mistakes may happen. Overseeing this is a major task, and activists cannot say they are callous. Booking FIRs discourages officers and is not productive,” he said.