Mumbai: NGO helps cops trace driver who ran over dog, left it to die in Colaba

Brijesh Chauhan had sped off after his vehicle hit the dog on Tuesday night, leaving the canine fighting for his life for 45 minutes; a team of NGO volunteers helped police track him down

The MRA Marg police have arrested a 22-year-old milk van driver on the charge of running over a dog on Tuesday night. Volunteers of an NGO helped the cops trace the driver about 45 minutes after the hit-and-run incident.

Sneha Visaria whose team fanned out and tracked down Chauhan at Bora Bazar

Had the driver, identified as Brijesh Jaisingh Chauhan, taken the dog immediately after the accident, the animal could have been saved, said Colaba resident Sneha Visaria, who runs the Just Smile Charitable Trust.

Complainant Sneha said Chauhan, a Virar resident employed with Amit Dairy, was on his way to Colaba to deliver milk when his vehicle met with the accident around 1.30 am. Instead of helping the injured canine, he sped off. "When I reached the spot half an hour to feed strays, I found a dog in a pool of blood. A family sleeping on the roadside told me that it was run over by a milk van," she told mid-day.

Sneha said her team rushed the dog to the SPCA hospital at Lower Parel where he was declared brought dead. "Those people on the pavement told me that the van was moving too fast."

The NGO volunteers informed MRA Marg police and a team of 20 people fanned out to track down the driver. "Finally, we found the milk van at Bora Bazar where Chauhan was delivering milk to shops. We brought him to the police station. The dog was alive for 45 minutes and was lying on the road for more than half an hour. If the driver had rushed it to the hospital, the dog could be alive," she said.

Senior Inspector Ananda Dadu Hodage of MRA Marg police station said Chauhan was arrested for rash driving, "mischief by killing or maiming cattle" and under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. "He was later released on bail."

1.30am
Time on Tuesday night when the dog was run over in Colaba

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