Naga cops gun for dogs

RAIPUR: Nagaland’s policemen have won fame in Chhattisgarh for waging a highly successful war against Maoist guerrillas. But they are also accused of killing hundreds of dogs for meat. It is an allegation that a senior officer of the Nagaland Armed Police (NAP) battalion does not accept, calling it a rumour, although he admits that his men like to “eat dogs but only healthy ones”.

Animal activists are, however, crying foul. They say that that NAP personnel’s fondness for ‘dog flesh’ has left around 2,500 dogs dead in the Bastar region, a Maoist stronghold. The NAP battalion, comprising 850 personnel, moved to Bastar in June this year. Terming the dog-eating habit as “intolerable”, People for Animals has decided to launch a public campaign to save the dogs from extinction in Bastar. 

“This is cruelty against dogs and definitely a crime under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. We will launch an agitation,” said Poonamchand Jain, an animal activist.