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Six dogs poisoned in Manali? Sanitation worker booked over death of a stray

Kullu: A sanitation worker of the local Municipal Committee (MC) was booked in Manali for allegedly poisoning a stray dog after a dog was found dead on March 14. An FIR was registered after a local resident filed a complaint alleging that the dog was poisoned.

However, animal rescue charity Manali Strays has claimed that six dogs, including a pet, were poisoned on that day, as per TOI.

Gaurav Schimar of Manali Strays said an eyewitness has claimed that several dogs were fed poison-laced ladoos but police booked the sanitation worker for killing just one. Dogs are being poisoned as the municipal council has failed to control their population, he added.

Manali DSP KD Sharma said a post-mortem had been done to ascertain the cause of the dog’s death. Police said that the complaint was filed by a man working as a caretaker and cook in a hotel, who was persuaded by an NGO working for stray dogs.

The president of Municipal Committee, Chaman Kapoor, reportedly claimed that the dog was alreay dead and the worker was only removing the corpse of the dog when the office-bearers of the NGO made his video.

"One dog died after being hit by a local man who was being bitten (by the dog). There was no need for a police case. We will launch a sterilization campaign to control the population of stray canines. I am in talks with the local veterinary department for this," he said.

'Six dogs were poisoned'
While MC denied the allegation that six dogs were poisoned, NGO representatives claimed to have videos of dead dogs and a voice recording of the MC worker admitting his folly.

In April 2018, many were poisoned on the orders of local panchayats, infuriating the online community of animal lovers. Mumbai-based health and wellness expert Abishek Mukherjee, who visited Manali with his family that year, had reported these deaths from Old Manali.

In 2021, at least seven stray dogs were poisoned in Manali, while most cases were unreported. While dog-bite cases in Manali have increased due to rising count of the strays, the municipal council is yet to conduct any dog census or sterilisation campaign.

Manali deputy superintendent of police K D Sharma said the autopsy report was awaited but a case under Section 429 (killing animals by poisoning) of the IPC and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act had been registered.

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