30 December,2020 11:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
Ayesha Julka with her pet Rocky
Actor Ayesha Julka has accused the caretaker of her Lonavala home, Ram Andhre of murdering her dog, Rocky, who was under his family's care. Julka, an animal activist and vice-president of the Society for Animal Safety (SAS) said, "Andhre has worked for me, along with his family, for the past 18 years. Rocky was a rescue dog from Lonavala, and I found him on the road when he was just two weeks old. Then, in a week's time, I got another dog called Wriggly home. Rocky was with me for six years and was looked after by Andhre's family."
Mumbai-based Julka visits Lonavala often. On her visits she would be greeted by a bounding Rocky and Wriggly, attest to the bond she shared with the canines. On September 13, when she was in Mumbai, she got a call saying Rocky had drowned and died in a water tank of the house. She rushed to Lonavala and was met by a traumatised caretaker family. "Initially, I accepted the drowning account. I did though notice that Wriggly was very quiet, and was not eating at all. He seemed fearful and the trauma had got to him too," said Julka, recalling that stressful day. Though Julka accepted it, she said that intuition told her something was not right.
"It was unlikely that Rocky could have drowned in a water tank. The tank mouth is very small." Though doubts persisted, with Julka also noting that Rocky's body had some blood stains, the overwrought actor buried the pet in the vicinity. On her way back from Lonavala, doubts resurfaced and Julka turned the car back, exhumed Rocky's body and took it to the Mumbai Veterinary College, Parel for a post-mortem.
The post-mortem report, a copy of which is with this paper, stated at the end, "The above post-mortem findings are suggestive of 'Respiratory Failure Complicated with Hypovolemia' as a cause of death. Furthermore, the observations were supports for suffocation and does not correlative for drowning cause." Thereafter, Julka filed an FIR at a Lonavala police station on September 17. "When the police visited my home, they found a blood-stained bedsheet in the laundry cupboard," she added.
Investigating Officer (IO), Lonavala police station B Sangale said, "The charge sheet is ready and now the case will go to court." However, Julka said that they were yet to receive the forensic report, though it has been three months. She added, "The Regional Forensics Science Laboratory Pune has delayed the report for over three months by citing lame reasons like they have a backlog of cases related to human beings and this is just a dog. My lawyer, H Garud said that the case would not come on board if the forensic report is missing. Plus, the forensic report nails the lies and the cover up by the accused and his wife."
Garud said that the Regional Forensics Science Laboratory Pune refused to prioritise this, saying they have other important matters. "This report forms the basis of the case, and the trial cannot be completed without it." A senior forensics official said, "I have spoken to the people concerned with reference to the case. I cannot give you any more information." Meanwhile, accused Andhre brushed off questions about the accusation. "All I want to say is that nothing has happened the way it has been portrayed, that Rocky has been choked to death by me. It was an accidental drowning death. I am very busy, and I do not wish to state anything else," he finished.
