A 35-year-old woman and her mother were assaulted and threatened by a group of people, including their neighbours, as they went about their daily ritual in Malad. The dog feeders were pelted with stones and also issued death threats.
While this is routine for those invested in animal welfare, what was uncommon was that the constable who rushed to help them allegedly urged the crowd to take the women to the cops. The animal lovers were further enraged when the Dindoshi police refused to register an FIR and only filed a Non-Cognizable (NC) offence.
Sneha Shridharani and her 58-year-old mother Neeta are residents of Pushpa Park at Malad East. Four people from the group that opposed them have been identified as Neeta and Chetan Mewada, and Vanita and Chirag Rao, residents of the area.
According to the police, on Saturday night, the Mewadas and Raos cornered Sneha and Neeta, and complained that the stray dogs they feed had torn the seat cover for their bike. The confrontation spiralled into an argument, and more people gathered around and ganged up on them. Things took a menacing turn when two drunken men, with bamboo sticks, merged with the crowd.
"They threatened to kill me and my mother, and also threw stones at us," said Sneha. "I immediately called the police and a constable arrived on the spot. However, instead of helping us, he encouraged the instigators to file a complaint holding us responsible for the property damage caused by stray dogs in the area." Luckily, some passers-by helped them getaway.
However, Sneha marched to the police station and urged a senior officer to take down an FIR against those who attacked her and her mother with stones. "I told PSI Swapnil Thale to register an FIR, but he said it would be applicable only if we were seriously hurt. He also asked me to undergo a medical test to prove that we had been badly injured, which we luckily weren't," she said. Sneha explains that she and her mother feed the dogs daily, and help NGOs vaccinate and treat them if they are sick or hurt. "There is no law prohibiting us from feeding stray dogs," she adds.
"We didn't find any injury marks on the woman or her mother," clarifies PSI Swapnil Ramakant Dhade of Dindoshi Police Station. "We can't register an FIR. The matter only merits a non-cognizable complaint. The attackers have apologized and promised not to interfere with their feeding ritual." They registered the NC under IPC sections 504, 506 and 34.
OPINION
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| Standard Procedure |
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If the women were assaulted, they should approach the magistrate court and register a complaint. NC is strong evidence that they were assaulted. In these kinds of cases, the police initially take down an NC, and if injuries or blood due to injuries is found, it progresses to an FIR. —Anand Jondhale, advocate
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 "Neeta and Sneha Shridharani")
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