Guards ‘beat dog to death’, varsity claims it ran away

A dog was brutally beaten by the security guards on the premises of a university at Padur recently. The incident came to light after students there shared videos of the same with the Blue Cross of India. After the BCI filed a complaint with a nearby police station, the university management said the dog bit two students on the campus and that it was alive and had run away.

“We spotted the guards chasing and throwing a stick at the dog after which it fell and was unable to walk. We rushed to the spot and found them beating the dog. As more students gathered, the staff asked us to leave. The dog was lifeless, but we have no clue whether it is dead or alive,” said a student.

The students said this is the first time such an incident happened inside the campus. Earlier, they had rescued monkeys and snakes from the campus. Though students urged the management to inform BCI, there was no response. They then sent the video to BCI seeking action.

“The incident happened on February 22 and came to light after hostel students took the video of the college security guard clubbing the dog to death with an iron rod,” said Dawn Williams, general manager, Blue Cross of India. While the varsity authorities justified the act saying the dog had bitten a student, this is a clear violation of animal rights, he said.

“When there was no Vigilance action till Thursday, we filed a complaint at Kelambakkam police station. They gave an FIR under IPC section 428 and prevention of animal cruelty Act 1960 section 11,” he added.

Currently, the police are investigating and searching for the dog’s body. But these people would have destroyed the evidence at the earliest. If so, it would be another offence.

To reduce the population of the dogs on the campus, they called the Blue Cross of India to sterilize, vaccinate and put them back.

When contacted a senior official at the university said the dog had bitten three people on the campus — two students and security. When they tried to chase the dog there was an accidental fall. “But the dog left the place immediately, and it was not harmed,” he claimed.