Dog owner booked after ex-Armyman files bite complaint

NOIDA: A retired colonel, whose daughter-in-law was allegedly bitten by a dog in Sector 29, has filed a police complaint against the pet animal’s owner, a retired major general, living in Brahmaputra Apartments in the sector.
An FIR has been registered against the dog owner as he failed to show a vaccination or a pet registration certificate, police said.
The complainant, Col SK Sharma (retd), said around 12.50pm on May 14, his family members were returning home from a local market and were climbing the staircase to his apartment when the dog attacked his daughter-in-law.
“The pet dog of Sanjeev Chaudhary came running out of their home and bit my daughter-in-law on her right calf. It left a deep lacerated bleeding wound and she had to be taken to the hospital for first aid,” Sharma said.
The entire incident was captured in a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera installed on the building’s premises, the complainant stated.
Sharma said he had requested the pet owner to share the details of his dog’s vaccination and its registration number.
“He refused to share the details with me. My daughter-in-law will have to be injected with anti-rabies vaccines that will be administered to her over a period of time,” he said.
The Noida Authority, Sharma pointed out, has issued comprehensive instructions to deal with such incidents.
The Authority had set a deadline to get pets registered, vaccinated and sterilised by January 31. Later, the deadline was extended by a fortnight. Owners will have to pay a fine of Rs 200 along with the registration fee of Rs 500 if their pets are not registered, it said.
Under the revised policy for pet animals, all the owners have to mandatorily get their pets vaccinated against rabies. Along with this, the policy has also made sterilisation mandatory for dogs. The Authority has set a penalty of Rs 2,000 per month for those who fail to do so.
Meanwhile, based on Sharma’s complaint, a case under Section 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animal) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the pet owner at Sector 20 police station.
Maj Gen (retd) response:
Responding to the allegations against him, Major General (retd) Sanjeev Chaudhary said his pet dog is one and a half years old.
"On the day of the incident, my Beagle went out of home hearing the noises of 5 to 6 people who were talking when the door was opened to hand over garbage. It was out between 11.30 am and 11.45am. There is only one bite mark. An apology was rendered by my wife several times, who happened to be there, and she offered to take the girl to the doctor and even to a vet," Chaudhary said.
He further mentioned that Col (retd) SK Sharma and his family were informed that the dog was fully vaccinated.
"My wife again asked about the welfare of the girl after 15 minutes and once again apologised. When Col (retd) Sharma asked for the dog’s papers at 1 pm, the same was shown to him by me and later a copy was provided on WhatsApp. The contention of the Col (retd) Sharma that the papers were denied to him is false. I also apologised to the complainant and once again offered to take him to the vet to decide the further course of treatment. By no means I did not refuse to show him the vaccination record of the pet dog," he said.