Over 50 stray dogs picked up by PMC over 2 months go, HC plea seeks release

The incident is the latest in a number of similar conflicts being reported from across the country, including the latest instance in Karnataka’s Kolar, Noida in UP and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

In the Pune case, a petition filed in the Bombay High Court by the activist, Vineeta Tandon, refers to an the “incident that took place on February 7” at a residential co-operative housing society “wherein a worker’s child aged 5-6 years has been injured due to an alleged dog bite by strays”.

The activist said in her petition the dogs taken away “are all healthy, friendly, peaceful, vaccinated and sterilized community dogs and no incident of biting was reported from 2010 till 2023”.

The petition alleged “negligence of the PMC in their duty” and, pending hearing, sought directions for setting up a fact-finding committee in each district of Maharashtra and also implementing orders passed by the Supreme Court in that regard.

Pending hearing, the plea also sought direction to state government and PMC to release the stray dogs captured and send them “back to their original habitat inside the said society”. The plea also sought direction to the state to conduct an inquiry for dog bite cases in and around Pune city and submit a report within a time-bound period.

When the matter came up for hearing on March 15, a division bench led by Justice Gautam S Patel observed that the grievances raised were “clearly in the nature of a PIL”.

The court asked the society to file an affidavit to explain its position and views and said that at present it was not expressing any opinion on the issue. Seeking affidavits from the respondent authorities and societies, the bench adjourned the matter, which is yet to be heard.

When contacted, a PMC official said that they had stepped in after the issue had blown up into a “law and order problem” with the conflict escalating between those in the residential society who feed stray dogs and other residents.

The official said they were planning to release the dogs but were facing opposition from members of the society. “The agency operating for PMC to implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme had picked up the stray dogs but later faced opposition from residents on releasing them. The PMC is in the process of releasing the dogs in the area from where they were picked and has sought police protection for the purpose. The PMC will soon release the dogs in the same location from where they were picked. This is as per the rules,” the official said.

A society representative said, “The court has not given any interim relief to the activists… as per ABC 2023, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has asked to form a committee to look into the matter, which has clearly instructed the PMC and police to follow the court’s order for releasing the dogs and not simply follow any guidelines in a manipulated fashion.”

The Indian Express visited the society in Pune and found a sharp divide between one group of residents who claim that the boy was bitten by strays and another that said that there was no conclusive proof.

Video footage accessed by The Indian Express shows the public space of the building, where cars are parked and at least four dogs are lying on the ground. It shows the dogs suddenly running into the building, outside the range of the camera. A few seconds later, the footage shows around five-six dogs running out and a child emerging from the building and being tended to by 3-4 people who had gathered.

A resident said the boy was the son of a domestic help, and that he was taken to Sassoon hospital at the time. He has since recovered from the injuries, the resident said.

“They think the dogs are there because we feed them. What they do not understand is that, if the dogs are fed, they sleep peacefully. I had helped get them neutered. Only eight were remaining to be neutered,” said Divya Singh, a resident who has been feeding some of the stray dogs.