Sources said that at 7.30 pm on Sunday, a street dog, which used to be found near a tea stall in Nagapattinam bus stand suddenly turned ferocious and started biting the public, particularly those who came to the tea stall and the bus stand. Soon, the tea stall owner Kumanan tried to chase the dog away from the spot, but it turned more furious and the people ran helter-skelter for safety. 

At one point, when the dog went out of control, Kumanan had to seek the help of pig catchers to get the canine caught and removed from the spot. The pig catchers, who reached the spot, caught the dog with a ring and killed it. Around 18 persons, who were bitten by the dog, were rushed to the Nagapattinam Government Hospital, where they got treatment as outpatients. 

However, the incident received criticism from animal lovers after the video of killing the dog went viral. Municipal Commissioner P Egaraj said that it was unfortunate that the people had killed the dog. The civic body has never instructed to act cruel with the dogs, but the public, who feared rabies infection, must have killed the dog. Still, we would initiate action against those who were involved in the offence.