Three held for killing strays

CHENNAI: A week after dogs were killed at an apartment complex in Nolambur, the police have arrested three persons in connection with the offence. The accused, Arul (40), Mohan (28) and Krishnan (32), have been remanded to custody, said Nolambur police. All three were residents of Sriperumbudur and were allegedly migrant labourers in search of odd jobs. A police official said, “On investigation, we found that these men were contacted by the gardener of the complex, who informed them about the dog menace.” He added, “The gardener has gone absconding.”Although the immediate culprits  are in police custody, the residents of the apartment, who are believed to have instigated the crime, are yet to be brought to justice. A police official said, “Some members of the apartment association came to the station and refuted the claim of having hired these men to kill the dogs.” They said that the intention was only to rid the complex of ‘a stray nuisance’, he added.Neither the number of dogs killed nor the location of their carcasses have been found. A resident of Citi Lights Meadows claimed that he witnessed the crime. He said, “I saw two of the dogs being killed in front of my eyes and decided to report it.” He added, “Last year, although I did not witness it myself, I heard the situation was much worse.”Evidence such as wire snares to catch the dogs and syringes were confiscated by Blue Cross officials and handed over to the police, as reported.Animal activists, however, are of the opinion that the instigators in such cases deserve more severe penalties than the men who are paid to do the job. Activist Sashi Mohan said, “Often, the people who hire these men to commit such heinous acts are influential people. When there are over 350 flats in this apartment complex, how can we identify the culprit?” she asked. There may be light on the horizon, yet. According to Sathya Radhakrishnan, Joint Secretary-BCI, “Things are a lot better with the cops these days because they are at least accepting the cases and making arrests. Last year, it was close to impossible to get them to make an arrest.”