Mumbai: Caretakers at SoBo shelter caught assaulting sick dog

A screenshot of CCTV camera footage shows one of them putting a cloth over the ailing dog

An animal lover, who runs a shelter for injured, ill and aged stray dogs and cats at her Nepean Sea Road home, was recently shocked to learn that the caretakers she had appointed were assaulting the innocent animals in her absence.

Priya Singh, also an activist, said she had appointed the caretakers as she needed help not just tending to the animals, but also cooking food that was sent across South Mumbai to feed the strays. She learnt about the assault after going through the footage of the CCTV camera she had installed last month over an unrelated reason.

Dog kicked last week

Last week, Singh saw the caretakers kicking one of the injured dogs and trapping a cat under a laundry basket.

Rampratap Paswan and Prakash Binge, the caretakers who assaulted the stray animals

"Rampratap Paswan and Prakash Binge were seen hitting, kicking one of the injured dogs. One of them pulled the dog out of the basket using a cloth and threw it on the floor. He then pushed the dog in one corner and forcefully pressed the cloth over it. They even tried to cover the CCTV camera, and were heard saying, 'Aaj to isko khatm hi kar dete hai' (We should kill this dog today)," Singh alleged. She said the dog had a fractured leg and she had picked it up from Mahalaxmi racecourse.

Singh said this was only one day's footage, and that they submitted it at the Malabar Hill police station and filed a complaint. Police fined Paswan and Binge and set them free with just a warning, she said.

"This is not enough for their inhuman treatment towards innocent animals. Their crooked mentality of suppressing the weaker living beings raises many concerns," Singh said, demanding stricter action against such offenders.

Singh had hired Binge in 2018 and Paswan in February 2020. "Meanwhile, we are going through the footage of other days to understand the extent of their inhumane behaviour," she added.

She currently has four dogs and 12 cats in her care.

While Senior Inspector of Malabar Hill police station Nilkanth Patil was not reachable for comment, Rajiv Jain, the zonal deputy commissioner of police, said he was not aware of the complaint but will certainly check it.

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