30 June,2011 07:01 AM IST | | Chetna Sadadekar
A resident has filed a complaint against her neighbours for allegedly murdering a cat, her six newborn kittens, four rats and a pigeon in cold blood
RESIDENTS of Shree Geetanjali Society, Andheri, are a troubled lot. Not only did they discover a whopping 12 dead bodies rotting in their compound yesterday, evidence points to the killer still lurking among them.
Aarti Gupta and her husband Sudanshu with the cats before they were allegedly murdered by society members
The fact that the bodies were that of a cat, her six kittens, four rats and a pigeon notwithstanding, a hectic game of thrust-and-parry has begun with some residents claiming that the deaths were an accident and others saying it was cold-blooded murder.
The most prevalent emotion, however, is one of good riddance as the feline was seen as a nuisance and had several complaints registered against it with the BMC.
Society resident Aarti Gupta, who found the dead bodies behind the D-wing, claims that they were murdered by some residents who didn't think too highly of the cat.
"The residents must be involved because the cat and her kittens were healthy. The society members have always been complaining about them, have been calling them a nuisance and have tried to hurt them in the past too," she said.
"How could the cat die all of a sudden? And, isn't it a great coincidence that the rats and pigeon also died at the same spot?" she asked.
Enraged by the alleged murders, Gupta tried to file an FIR with the Versova police but was asked to file a complaint with the Bombay Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA).
Aarti's husband Sudhanshu said, "Before the autopsy was done, the bodies of the cat and her kittens had already begun decomposing and had been thrown in a BMC clean-up van.
Confirming the incident, Suresh Kadam, assistant secretary, BSPCA said, "It is true that a complaint has been filed and we will surely investigate the matter. Cats are living beings too."
The Other Side
When MiD DAY approached the residents of the society, members of the Managing Committee said they had nothing to do with the deaths of the cats but were happy that they had died.
Maneka Hoonjan, a resident who stays in the E-wing said, "We could not keep anything on our windows because the cat would come and take them away. We could not even keep the windows open because we were afraid that the feline would enter our homes."
Another resident, Tuljo Sachanandani said, "We had sent several letters to Aarti Gupta requesting her to control the cats as she was the one who provided them food and shelter. Several residents were complaining of the cats and we had also filed complaints with the BMC."
