Madhya Pradesh police to conduct DNA test to determine dog's owner: Report

In a bid to determine the owner of a dog, the police in Madhya Pradesh have decided to conduct a DNA test to decide the parentage of the animal, hoping to resolve the conflict between two people who both claim to be the owner.

Three months ago, Shadab Khan, a journalist, had filed a complaint with the police that his dog, Coco, was missing. 

“On November 18, he claimed to have found his dog in the house of an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) leader Kratik Shivhare. Shadab called the police and took the dog with him. Later, on November 19, Shivhare reached the police station and claimed that the dog belonged to him. He said the dog’s name Tiger and he purchased the dog from Itarsi a few weeks ago,” Hemant Shrivastava, in-charge of Hoshangabad Dehat police station, told the Hindustan Times.

According to Hoshangabad police, the dog was answering to both the names, Coco and Tiger, and was friendly with both the parties. 

“As neither of them was willing to budge for two days, we decided to perform the DNA test. Shadab Khan said the parent of the dog was in Panchmarhi while Shivhare said the parent of his dog was in Itarsi,” said the police officer.

Police teams were dispatched to both the places and blood samples of the dog's parents were collected through the district veterinary doctor and the cops let Shivhare keep the dog.

 “I have submitted all the documents including a vaccination card to the police to prove my ownership and I insisted on a DNA test,” Shivhare said, alleging that Khan took the dog without his permission.

Meanwhile, Swati Gaurav Bhadoriya of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said, “The dog fell ill because the police didn’t take care of him. He is suffering from a high fever. We want an FIR to be registered against the police and the person who made the false ownership claim under the sections of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.” 

The police denied the claim. “We are dealing with the case sensitively to ensure the dog gets its rightful owner,” Hoshangabad superintendent of police Santosh Singh Gaur said.