Car driver held for running over stray

MUMBAI: A 48-year-old man was arrested for allegedly running over a female street dog at a housing complex in Juhu. The car driver, Ashwin Panchal (48), was later released on bail.
A local had lodged a complaint against the driver for running over the dog, fondly called Sweety, and not even stopping to help the critically injured animal.

Senior inspector of Juhu police station, Pandharinath Wavhal, said that a resident of Vinay Vidya Vivek Housing Society, Ashok Shah, had lodged a police complaint, stating that a car driver had run over the street dog on February 3. The police conducted an investigation after which Panchal was tracked down as the driver who had run over Sweety, said an officer.

"The 10-year-old canine was a friendly stray who often sat in our housing complex,"said another resident. "The accident took place during the day. Worse, the driver did not even even stop to help. We submitted footage from cameras of the crime to the police, after which we lodged a complaint. Animal lovers plan to start a 'Justice for Sweety' campaign."

Animal activist Bhavin Gathani said it is the moral and legal duty of a driver and other occupants of the vehicle to stop and offer medically help the accident victim, whether it is a human or an animal. In this case, the other occupant of the car, Jayesh Shah , was not booked.

A few local residents had taken Sweety to hospital where she died.