3 more dogs found dead in Mulund housing complex

Eight stray dogs have been found dead in a housing complex at Mulund (W) in a period of three months. The dogs, which lived in Lok Everest housing complex, have all allegedly died under mysterious circumstances. On Monday, a dog was found dead at the housing complex, followed by the discovery of two more dead puppies on Tuesday morning. The Mulund police are investigating the matter.u00a0

Doggone it! Vaidehi Prabhu (in black) and Mulund police with the body of a dead dog found on Monday

A resident of the building and animal lover Vaidehi Prabhu said, "There are around 30 dogs in the building, including small puppies. Most of the dogs that were found dead stayed at the B1 wing in the complex. In the same wing, there were 10 dogs of which only two remain now."

There are seven wings in the housing complex at Cement Company road. The stray dogs are fed by the residents, and live at the complex's podium, parking lot, basement and garden.

Building residents said that heated arguments often occur between members of the housing complex about the dogs. While some residents believe that the dogs should be kept for safety, others consider them a nuisance.

A resident said, "Whenever there would be a general body meeting, the topic of stray dogs would be at the top of the agenda." They also said that a few months ago, the BMC had been called to remove the dogs, but animal lovers in the complex intervened.

Five dogs had been found dead on several occasions in the past, but they were considered to be natural or accidental deaths.

On Monday, a dog was found dead in the morning by Prabhu. Sensing foul play, she informed members of Sadbhavna Charitable Trust.

Volunteers Sanjeev Dighe, Sunil Kataria, Savitri, Dinesh and Hasmukh immediately rushed to the spot, and after inquiring, they called the Mulund police. The police made a panchnama, took samples of evidence and sent the dog's body for post-mortem.

Yesterday, while returning from the market, Prabhu decided to inspect the area again and found the dead bodies of two three-month-old-puppies. She immediately informed the police and the trust. "I am helpless and don't know what to do. One by one all the dogs are getting killed. I don't know who is doing this. In fact, most of the dogs were killed in the basement, where there is no CCTV camera," said Prabhu.

Bhavanji Chhadwa, a member of the Sadbhavna charitable trust, said, "My 24 years of experience tell me that in all the cases, the dogs were poisoned and murdered in a very cruel manner. We have asked the complex's secretary, chairman and police to have a meeting. If action is not taken at the earliest, we will protest outside the complex. We will also ask for more CCTV cameras."

Police Sub-Inspector
D Mane of Mulund police station said, "We are awaiting the post mortem reports. All the dogs have died in a similar manner, and there are no visible external injuries. We are recording the statements of residents of the building."u00a0