Five stray dogs die of suspected poisoning in Bengaluru | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: A 52-year-old owner of a restaurant in Battarahalli, east Bengaluru, filed a complaint with police over the death of five stray dogs, suspecting that unknown persons had poisoned them.KR Pura police registered a case under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 325 (mischief by killing or maiming an animal) against unknown persons and are investigating.The incident happened on I Cross, Garden Avenue Road, Battarahalli, between 10.30pm and 11.30pm on June 18. Ronni D’ Costa, owner of Ronni Restaurant, who has been feeding stray dogs for the last 15 years, said in his complaint that around five bled after suspected poisoning. He asked police to ascertain the cause and take action against those responsible.Ronni told TOI, “I used to feed strays in the area for years. On June 18, multiple dogs were poisoned and killed. They were innocent, harmless souls. Some of them were even sterilised and being looked after. Around 15 minutes before the dogs started bleeding, they were playing with me. Then I saw them collapsing one after the other in front of my restaurant. We tried to save them, but efforts went in vain.”Residents of the area had named the dogs Tiger, Chinese, Chiku, Leo and Kalu. Residents took to social media and termed the act not just cruelty but murder. Soon after the first dog collapsed, Ronni rushed out of the restaurant and attended to it. Before he could grasp what was happening, he found another dog collapsing nearby. Residents gathered at the spot and tried to feed the dogs with water and called for the veterinary doctor. But they were helpless as the dogs breathed their last in front of them. A senior police officer said, “All five dogs were sent for postmortem. We are waiting for the reports and samples have been sent to forensic science laboratory to find out what was fed to the dogs. We checked CCTV cameras in the locality but didn’t get any clue. Efforts are on to find out if someone has fed poison-laced food to the dogs.”A senior BBMP official said, “There were no complaints about stray dogs from residents of the area. We have learnt about the deaths and are cooperating with police.”