Kupendra Reddy, Rajya Sabha MP, recently got into a spat with an elderly couple, Shanta Sundaram and Sundaraman who feed strays. The police then slapped a case against the couple.
Reddy told Metrolife he had not asked the police to file any case, and had only instructed the BBMP to tackle the problem of aggressive strays.
“I go for morning walks every day at 5.30 with a few of my friends. One day, about seven to eight dogs came running towards us. One of my friends picked up a stone to scare them and they went away. Back from my walk, I called up Sundaraman and told him what had happened,” he says.
Reddy lives about 100 yards away from the couple’s house. “Aggressive dogs are a common sight early mornings and late evenings. No one takes that road even on bikes or cycles,” he says.
He says his cousin has built a ‘naai mane’ (home for dogs) near Kodathi village and advised the couple to send their dogs there. (Animal lovers Metrolife spoke to say dogs are territorial and don’t thrive if they are forced away from their territory.)
Reddy says he told Sundararaman several times to do something about the strays, following frequent complaints from other citizens. He wants the couple to confine the strays in their compound, and have belts around their necks.
He also forwarded to Metrolife a mail he has received from a citizen called Parimala, explaining that the law does allow feeding of stray dogs.
“But here, the safety of localities is the question,” he says. Many have questioned the legality of the case under Section 289 of the IPC, saying it only comes underplay when a pet harms an individual. However, these dogs are neither pets and nor have they harmed anyone.
Since the FIR against the elderly couple is booked in HSR Layout Police Station, Metrolife called up D Nagraj, circle inspector, to know the reason for filing the case.
“The public have been complaining about the nuisance created by the street dogs and when BBMP came and complained to us, we filed a case,” he says.
“The matter is being investigated and the case will be closed soon.”