Two persons, including the manager of a cooking gas cylinder distribution unit, were arrested on charges of brutally clubbing a stray dog to death in Sellur on Thursday.
The police said the manager, K. Muthusaravanan, had reportedly paid ₹500 to a local man, Vimalraj, to kill the dog as it used to bark at him regularly. A video clip of Vimalraj repeatedly hitting the dog on its head and legs with a log went viral in the social media as he had asked someone to videograph his cruel act. He is seen bundling the dog that was wriggling in pain in a bag.
K. Marimuthu (39) of Sivagami Street, who was taking care of the dog, said after Muthusaravanan had complained about the dog barking at him, he had started to leash the dog in 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 at it, the dog had 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 its 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 Indian Penal Code for killing the dog and under the provisions of Prevention of Cruelty against Animals Act, 1960.
Both of them were arrested on Saturday.
