Killing stray dogs: Police accuses 15 political activists in Kerala

Kottayam, September 27: 15 political activists were accused of killing stray dogs in Kerala. The police had taken action on a complaint on account of killing dogs. The activists had also hung the dogs from pole during their protest.

The protest had taken place on Monday, where the politicians of Congress Youth Front (Mani) in Kerala beat ten stray dogs to death, tied their bodies to a pole and paraded them to protest against growing ‘stray dog menace’ in the state.

According to party members, the dogs had been killed by the protesters as a warning sign for the government to take action against the rising number of dog-biting incidents on the streets. The protesters reportedly carried pictures of children been bitten by stray dogs. They left the carcasses outside the post office that faces the municipality offices.

“We have killed these dogs. And it’s a warning that this will continue if the central and the state government do not control the stray dog menace,” Saji Manjakadambil, who was heading the protest, told the media.

The protest was apparently carried out to challenge Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who had said that illegal killing of stray dogs would not be allowed in the state. However, no case has been registered by the police against those who killed the dogs yet.

Incidents of citizens being attacked by stray dogs have been on the rise in Kerala leading to outrage among the majority of the population. A 65-year-old woman died after being bitten by street dogs in Thiruvananthapuram in August this year.

Following the incident, the Kerala government said that it would cull stray dogs despite opposition from Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and other animal rights activists and lovers turning the issue into a political one.

CM Vijayan had also called an urgent meeting of the heads of all departments to discuss the situation that has left the public scared.