The Tiruppur district police have registered a case against 20 villagers in connection with the hanging of two dogs, including a stray, near Moolanur. The action was initiated following a complaint lodged by an NGO, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), on Sunday after a video of the incident went viral on social media.
The incident occurred on August 24, when a stray dog and two other dogs, owned by villagers K. Kittusamy and Murugan from Kovil Mettupudur in Moolanur, allegedly killed goats belonging to local residents, according to sources as reported by The New Indian Express. Enraged by the loss of their livestock, some villagers reportedly confronted Kittusamy and Murugan on Friday. However, the situation escalated when the dogs chased the goats away once again.
On Saturday, in an act of retaliation, some of the villagers allegedly hanged the stray dog and one of Kittusamy's dogs. The dogs were also reportedly beaten and tourted before being killed, as reported by DT Next. The video of this brutal act circulated widely, leading to public outrage and prompting M. Nagaraj, an executive committee member of a private NGO in Tiruppur, to file a formal complaint at the Moolanur police station.
Based on Nagaraj's complaint, the police have registered a case against 20 villagers from Kovil Mettupudur and have launched an investigation into the matter, as per the report.
On Monday, Nagaraj reported a separate incident, claiming that an unknown vehicle hit his bike while he was on his way to the Moolanur police station to obtain a copy of the FIR. Despite the collision, Nagaraj escaped with minor injuries after falling into a drain. Nagaraj is currently receiving treatment at Dharapuram Government Hospital, and both incidents are being investigated separately, according to the Moolanur police.
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