Nearly 100 stray dogs poisoned to death in Telangana village

NEW DELHI: Nearly 100 stray dogs were allegedly poisoned to death in Telangana's Mancherial district, police said on Friday, in the latest incident of mass killings of canines in the state. According to police, the incident occurred in Kishtapur village on the intervening night of March 7 and 8, news agency PTI reported.Animal welfare activist A Goutham, who works as a cruelty prevention manager with the Stray Animal Foundation of India, lodged a complaint alleging that around 100 stray dogs were killed after being given poisonous injections. In the complaint, Goutham alleged that the village sarpanch and the gram panchayat secretary had hired two people to administer the injections and later bury the animals near a river.Based on the complaint, police registered a case at the Jannaram police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act against the sarpanch and gram panchayat officials. Further investigation is underway, police said.Several incidents of mass stray dog killings were reported in different parts of Telangana in January and December last year, taking the toll to around 1,300. In those cases, police registered complaints against sarpanchs, their associates and gram panchayat officials following allegations by animal welfare activists.The killings are suspected to have been carried out by some local representatives, including sarpanchs, allegedly to fulfil promises made to villagers ahead of the gram panchayat elections held in December last year to address the stray dog menace.