Ten out of 34 pedigree puppies allegedly stolen from a private veterinary hospital in Noida were recovered on Saturday, the police said.
Phase 3 SHO Devendra Singh Yadav said a police team had rescued these puppies from the house of a pet breeder, Gyanendra Pratap, in Sector 93 on Thursday evening after receiving a complaint from Srishti Rachna Joshi, a board member of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
He said Gyanendra was not running an illegal enterprise but he did not fulfill some of the conditions to run a pet shop in a residential area.
Cruelty to animals
“He left the animals locked in the house without any care. We booked him under Section 11 (1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. As we didn’t have space, we put the puppies in Krishna Veterinary Hospital in Sector 122 for check-up and care,” Mr. Yadav told The Hindu .
On Friday morning, Gyanendra and his three staff members stole the puppies from the hospital, the officer said, adding: “On Saturday, a team nabbed one of his staffers and recovered 10 of the puppies from a society in Sector 119. Gyanendra is absconding with the rest,” the officer added.
Dr. Krishna said Gyanendra and his staff “stormed” into the hospital and took away the puppies after “threatening” the staff, in two cars.
“The puppies were of expensive exotic breeds such as golden retriever, French bulldog and maltese,” he said.
