Bob was only a year-and-a-half old, a tail-stump wiggling brown bundle of energy who, as most boxer pups are, occasionally went into a sulk. He was friendly to anyone who cared to say hello though, as his owner Jithendra recalls, he was something of a cat chaser. That proved to be Bob's undoing.
Last Tuesday, Jithendra's neighbour Sunil George, apparently upset with Bob for attacking his hens, used a big stone to bash in the boxer's face. Bob bled to death. Jithendra went to the cops with a complaint against George but the cops in effect laughed it off - dogs, they said, get killed every day, so what's new.
A disconsolate Jithendra turned to Facebook, lamenting his pet's death. His simple but sad FB post has already garnered 18,000 'likes' and counting, and has been shared 9,551 times. "Bob was friendly even with strangers but couldn't stand hens or cats getting into our compound.
facebook/Jithendra Das KG
He may have attacked my neighbour's hens but that doesn't justify what he did to Bob. I have heard that George had tortured and killed animals before as well," said Jithendra, a philosophy student at Maharajas College, Ernakulam.
When Jithendra persisted, the police registered an FIR the next day and arrested George, an auto-rickshaw driver, under sections 428 and 429 (mischief by killing animal) of the IPC but released him immediately on bail.
"It is the discretion of the investigating officer to grant bail from the station in the case of such an offence. A chargesheet will be filed soon and it is for the court to decide on the type of punishment," said AA Ashraf, Njarackal Circle Inspector.
Daya, an animal welfare organization affiliated with the Animal Welfare Board of India, has filed a complaint with the Njarackal police seeking to implead in the case. "The punishment for such an offence can be up to five years imprisonment or fine or both.
But the fine can be as low as Rs50. There is a need for more stringent laws to avoid such incidents in the future. Police officials not only refrain from taking strong action when the victim is a dog but also discourage owners from even filing a complaint," said Ambili Purackal, a coordinator with Daya.
facebook/Jithendra Das KG
Animal rights activists say that people need to come out with complaints of torture towards animals. "A Muvattupuzha resident approached us with a complaint of a pet being tortured. A complaint from Kozhikode mentioned attack on a dog with an airgun.
We have come across instances where personal anger was taken out on animals," said the Daya coordinator. Noted psychiatrist Dr CJ John concurs. "Such a trait can be a part of an antisocial personality disorder. The humane element is lost when an animal is tortured or killed. committed. The person wouldn't have any remorse and he might be deriving pleasure from it," he said.