Did Nanded civic body kill 500 stray dogs?

A video has emerged which shows a man injecting a substance in a trapped dog's hind leg

A shocking incident of over 550 dogs being killed by the municipal authorities in Nanded - by injecting them with possibly hazardous substance after trapping them under a butterfly net - has come to light after PETA India wrote to the authorities concerned about the killings on February 7.

According to the email, injecting the dogs with this substance was "leading to a slow and extremely painful death," and was brought to the notice of PETA India by locals. In the video that has surfaced, a dog can be seen being trapped with a butterfly net, and then being pinned to the ground; the man, who is wearing gloves, can be seen dipping the syringe into a liquid substance, then injecting it in the dog's hind legs. Within the minute, the dog starts howling in pain. After a few minutes, the dog, along with the net, is thrown into the back of a mini-tempo like vehicle, filled with other dogs.

Meet Ashar, PETA India, said the issue came to light when activist Gauri Maulekhi, co-trustee at People For Animals (PFA), tweeted about it. "The locals from the area had reported that they had seen the dogs being injected by the municipal authority officials. Several locals said that around 500 dogs, or more, have been killed in this manner. I have spoken to a few personally…there is a fluid that the corporation staff is carrying. It is a slow and painful death, and is completely illegal." He added: "It is the municipal corporation van that can be seen in the video…which officers are involved, that is for them to figure out."

PETA India also marked the February 7 email to the Animal Welfare Board of India, who in turn wrote to the District Collector of Nanded, the Superintendent of Police of Nanded, as well as the District Deputy Commissioner of Animal Husbandry. AWBI asked authorities to conduct an inquiry into the matter and take subsequent action.

When mid-day reached out to Lahuraj Mali (IAS), municipal commissioner of Nanded's civic body, he said that he is on leave and that he is not aware of the issue. He also said that current charge of the office was with Arun Dongre (IAS), District Magistrate and Collector of Nanded, who was also unavailable for comment.

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