MCD staff catching dogs ‘assaulted’ in Delhi’s Rohini, van vandalised

According to a complaint letter submitted to the Station House Officer (SHO) by officials from the MCD’s Veterinary Department (Rohini Zone), a six-member team responded on Monday morning to a complaint from teachers at a Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Sector 16, regarding a stray dog on the premises.

The official said the team captured the dog and then went to Sector 3 in response to another complaint, where they caught a second dog. “At that point, a group of dog lovers arrived, misbehaved with staff, and physically assaulted them. They forced the team to release the dog caught in Sector 3 and return the one from Sector 16 to its original location,” the letter stated.

“As the van exited the school premises, the same group of unidentified individuals surrounded the vehicle, assaulted staff, vandalised the van by smashing its glass, and forcibly took away tools, the ignition key, and the logbook before fleeing the scene,” the letter added.

A purported video of the incident was circulated on social media. Police said they analysed CCTV footage and one suspect was identified and apprehended.

“He reportedly feeds stray dogs outside his Sector 3 Rohini shop and is part of a WhatsApp group (for dog lovers). On Monday, when a team of MCD officials arrived at his shop to pick up one of the dogs, he informed the other group members through WhatsApp and shared the location. Subsequently, the group members reached the spot and rescued the stray dog from the MCD officials,” said DCP (Rohini) Rajeev Ranjan, adding that the man has been bound down.

He said two other women seen in the footage are confirmed to be Rohini residents, and a team has been sent to trace them and others involved.

Police said the FIR invokes sections 212 (obstructing any public servant in the discharge of his public functions), 132 (assault or use of criminal force against a public servant to deter them from their duty), 324 (4) (causing mischief, punishments for causing loss or damage to property), 305 (c) (theft) of the BNS.

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel said he also filed a complaint with the Rohini DCP, stating that the MCD staff were allegedly manhandled by dog lovers.

Dog catchers panic, ABC centres beyond capacity

Such incidents, however, have caused fear and panic among dog catchers.

Deepak Nagar, a caretaker and dog catcher at Neighbourhood Woof, an animal birth control (ABC) centre in Timarpur, said the MCD van provided to them is no longer functional, forcing them to rely on a private ambulance. “But we’ve stopped catching dogs after the SC order. I’ve seen videos of ambulances being vandalised. Even if we go out to help, people can misinterpret our actions — anything can happen, they can even hit us,” he said.

With the MCD ordering a halt on releasing dogs caught from the Red Fort area ahead of Independence Day, ABC centres are functioning beyond capacity. “We usually begin releasing dogs on the night of August 16. Right now, we have 40 dogs (picked up from Red Fort); we fear that admitting more will mean they’ll be stuck here forever,” Deepak added. The centre already houses abandoned dogs.

The NGO is now feeding the animals without MCD support, which only covers Rs 1,000 per surgery. “We let the dogs out for a few hours daily in our open space — they’ve been confined for so long, they’ve started fighting among themselves,” he added.

At Sneh Animal Welfare Society, an ABC centre in Usmanpur, sterilisation has also been temporarily stopped. “No new dogs have been caught because our shelter is over capacity. We currently have 60 dogs from the Red Fort,” said Dr Rajat, a veterinarian at the facility.

Bandana Sen Gupta, founder of Sonadi Charitable Trust, another NGO involved in the ABC programme, said the initiative is currently halted. “We have 28 fully vaccinated dogs ready to be released. These dogs came from around Najafgarh, and it’s becoming difficult to manage… and we’ve received no funding from the MCD since the sterilisation has halted,” she said.

According to MCD officials, a total of 35 dogs were picked on Tuesday.

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