150 crows, 9 dogs, squirrels dead: Who's poisoning animals in Vasai?

For Sujata Hatkar, a resident of Narligaon, Vasai, the stray dogs living around her home are her darlings. She has named each of them, and feeds them every day. One morning, Helen and Ringa, her favourites, did not turn up at their regular spot. Sujata looked around for them, but instead of hearing their friendly barks, she found their bodies.

Many other animal lovers in Vasai will tell you the same chilling story. In the past few days, nine stray dogs, 150 crows and countless squirrels have been found dead in the area. Residents suspect that they were poisoned, and have complained to the police regarding the matter.

A grief-stricken Sujata has written a formal complaint to the Vasai police. "Every morning, like obedient students they would come near my bungalow where we fed them biscuits. Helen and Ringa were very close to me. How can someone be so cruel? The police must get to the bottom of this," she said.

Other residents of Narligaon near the Vasai Court too were shocked when they found the bodies of stray dogs in their wadi. Soon, they learned that this was a pattern when similar deaths of dogs, crows and squirrels came to light. "The dogs may have been poisoned by thieves so that they do not bark when they try to break into someone's house. Or it could be locals who wanted to get rid of them," said a resident.

Francis Coutinho, a resident, said the stray dogs behind his bungalow were very friendly. "They were very playful and never harmed anyone. We often fed them with biscuits. They have died together, which means there is definitely something wrong," said Coutinho.

Confirming the incident, a senior officer from Vasai police station said, "We are probing the incident. Post-mortem reports are awaited. We will book whoever is responsible under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act."