Politician booked for running over stray dog

After dillydallying for a couple of hours, the Nalasopara police finally registered an animal cruelty FIR against a local politician on Tuesday after he allegedly drove his car over a stray dog. An animal lover who confronted the politician, said that the latter not only threatened him, but also boasted about his political links.

According to Nalasopara police, Madhukar Patil, a resident of Dhanivbaugh in Nalasopara East, and a member of an influential local political party, allegedly drove his Maruti Swift over the hind legs of a stray dog, due to which it sustained a fracture. Wilson Bastin,18, witnessed the incident and immediately reported it to the police.

"I am associated with an NGO which works for stray dogs. One of the dogs was sleeping on the road when Patil drove over him. I rushed the dog to the vet. I was threatened by the accused and complained about the same to the police," said Bastin.

"Due to the lack of knowledge regarding which sections need to be applied, the police took half a day to register one complaint. We were made to wait for hours before they could finally gave us the FIR copy," said Salim Charania, president of Peace for Animal Welfare Association (PAWA), an NGO.

"We have registered the case under section 428 (mischief by killing or maiming animal), 279 (rash driving) of the Indian Penal Code and under section 184 (driving dangerously) of the Motor Vehicle Act and under section 11(a) (treating animals cruelly) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. We are investigating further," said a Nalasopara police officer.