Gated community finds dogs being killed, possibly eaten

When residents of a small gated community in Chikkabellandur began noticing their street dogs vanishing, the last thing they thought was that a group of young men could be killing the animals.

However, the discovery of bones and other grisly remains prompted them to seek the help of animal welfare associations. Thejeshwar, a member of Cupa (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action), who visited the locality with police from Varthur station on Tuesday claimed he found clear signs that the animals had been killed.

“We found the skull of a newly killed dog just five feet from the front door of the suspects. The carcass had been buried but the skull was jutting above the surface as shallowly buried bones do after rains,” he said. An FIR has now been filed with the police.

The gated community, Misty Springs Private Villas, is located off Gunjur Road. It adjoins an unaffiliated open property with trees, where five to six youths lived in a single bedroom rented house.

Sources said all of them are employed at a restaurant in the area. Cupa said this raises concern that some of the meat could have made it into food prepared for human consumption. “We will file a complaint with FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) tomorrow,” Thejeshwar said.

Police from Varthur police station confirmed that a search of the grounds had found numerous bones. Cupa shared images of the grisly discovery with DH showing jawbones, waist bones, bones with scraps of fur and even a recently dead puppy. Thejeshwar said the remains of the puppy showed signs of a knife wound.

Speaking later on Wednesday with DH, Inspector Puttu Obulu Reddy of Varthur Police station said the accused men had claimed that the remains were from pigs and that the carcass of a dog had nothing to do with them. Reddy clarified that a rifle that was also found in the house was an air gun, for which no licence is required.

Cupa said forensics will be carried out on the bones to determine which species it came from. However, a later visit to the site on Wednesday after the police visit found many of the bones had vanished.

Local residents described many of the missing animals as community pets. “I don’t consider myself a dog person, but I was feeding two puppies regularly," one resident told DH. "The disappearances came to a head after one of the puppies went missing about 10 days ago. If something is not done soon, I fear that the one remaining puppy and two or three adult dogs will also go the way of the others."