Two persons, including the manager of a gas cylinder distribution agency were arrested on charges of brutally clubbing a stray dog to death in Sellur on Thursday.
The police said that the manager, K. Muthusaravanan, had reportedly paid ₹500 to a local resident, Vimalraj, to kill the dog as it used to bark at him regularly.
A video clipping of Vimalraj repeatedly hitting the dog on its head and legs with a log, went viral on social media after he himself had asked someone to videograph his cruel act. He is seen bundling away the dog that was writhing in pain, in a bag.
K. Marimuthu (39), of Sivagami Street, who had taken care of the dog, said that after Muthusaravanan complained about the dog barking at him, he started to leash the dog at his house. “The dog has been on our street since it was puppy and had never bitten anyone in the street. Since Muthusaravanan had hurled stones on it, the dog started to bark whenever he crossed our street,” he said.
Marimuthu even took the dog to suburban Uranganpatti and abandoned it there four months back. “However, the dog traced the way back [for more than 12.5 km] and reached home after seven days,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, R. Shiva Prasad, said that based on a complaint from the local village administrative officer, Muthumari, the Sellur police had registered a case under Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code for killing the dog and under the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals Act, 1960.
Both of them were arrested on Saturday.