A group of boys in Maharashtra, India spotted one of the stray dogs in the area being raped on a pedestrian overpass on Tuesday, July 21. They reported the incident to a local animal rescue worker, Aditi Nair. Nair filed a complaint with the police which led to the eventual arrest of the man. The sexual predator has been booked for multiple offences under the Indian Penal Code. He remains in police custody as of Monday, July 27.

Since the COVID-19 lockdown in India, animal rights activists as well as the government have urged people to feed stray animals. A group of boys in Thane, a little over 20 kilometres from central Mumbai in western India, had been feeding the dogs in their area regularly. The unnamed boys found a man sodomising a female dog on a pedestrian overpass around 4:30 pm local time.

The predator was engaging in the illegal act on a pedestrian-only bridge that the locals use to cross the busy roads. Since lockdown continues in Thane, very few people were in the area to witness the indecent act.

Seeking help, the boys contacted Nair, a known animal rights activist. She and the boys went to the local police station to register a complaint against the animal abuser. Nair told the Times of India that the police were reluctant about registering their complaint. Having dealt with many animal abuse incidents, Nair took swift action by contacting the Thane police commissioner, Vivek Phansalkar. The escalation of the complaint was met with cooperation from Phansalkar.

Phansalkar instructed the local police to register the complaint and "make an airtight case" to bring the dog justice. A First Information Report (FIR) under section 377 (unnatural sex) and Section 11(a) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 was registered on Wednesday, July 22. Following the FIR Srinagar police of the Wagle estate division arrested the unnamed man on Saturday, July 25. A government veterinarian was called in to assist with the case.

The 40-year-old resident of road number 16 in Wagle Estate was presented in court after the arrest. The manual scavenger who also works odd jobs was remanded in police custody. Investigation into the incident continues.

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A stray dog was raped by a man in Thane, India. (Representational image) Reuters
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