A city-based doctor is running from pillar to post to save her pets, including two cats, a turtle, two puppies, and an aquarium, which have been sealed along with her house by a private bank due to non-payment of home loan.
Speaking to The Hindu, Priyadarshini, a resident of Rajarajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar), said, “I have debt with a bank and they had taken possession by sealing the entire property. While the entire process was going on, I was in the high court and unable to come on time to rescue my pet animals residing inside my house. They sealed my house with all my pet animals. They used to come to my residence regularly to discuss the settlement of loan and they were well aware of all the pets I have.”
She alleged that though she requested the bank to release them, they “blatantly refused without any empathy towards the animals” and refused to open the house and let the animals out.
“Those pets have been locked in the house since Friday morning without any food and water. I tried to contact the bank several times and since all efforts went futile, I reached out to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA),” she said.
A member of SPCA and animal rights activist, Arun Prasad, said the bank can’t seal a house without taking out the animals. “This kind of cruelty comes under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 Section 11 and it’s a crime. From our side, we also tried to talk to the Chairman of the bank. But he said it’s not in his hands. If anything happens to those pets or they die due to starvation, the bank will be liable,” he said.
Even in the time of COVID-19, there were Government rules that animals in shops should be fed twice a day, yet the bank is being irresponsible, he added.
Dr. Priyadarshini went to RR Nagar police station on Wednesday to file a complaint, but said the police refused to take the complaint and said it is a court order and they cannot do anything about it.
She later sent a complaint mail to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, West, asking for help to rescue her pets. Currently, she is staying in a lodge with her two daughters.
