A horrifying discovery in Telangana’s Mancherial district has sparked fresh outrage among animal rights groups, after nearly 100 stray dogs were allegedly poisoned and buried in a mass grave. The incident, which took place in the Kishtapur village on the night of the March 7, was revealed when a complaint was filed by A Goutham, who is a manager at the Stray Animal Foundation of India.
The police report states that the Sarpanch of the village, along with the Gram Panchayat Secretary, hired two people to conduct the culling. It is reported that lethal injections were used to kill stray dogs, who were then buried near a river. A case has been registered at the Jannaram police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and an investigation is currently underway to find out who exactly carried out this heinous deed.
The latest occurrence in the state of Telangana is part of a larger, alarming trend. There has been a staggering rise in the killings of stray animals in the state, with the death toll now estimated to have crossed 1,300. There have also been similar occurrences in the districts of Hanamkonda, Kamareddy, and Jagtial, where hundreds of animal carcasses were found in pits earlier this year.
Animal welfare activists suspect these killings are linked to grim "election promises" made during the Gram Panchayat polls held in December. It is alleged that some candidates, looking to win over voters frustrated by the stray dog menace, promised "dog-free villages" and subsequently hired private contractors to eliminate the animals once in power. With the Supreme Court previously condemning such illegal culling as an "institutional failure," the pressure is mounting on state authorities to hold local representatives accountable for these mass atrocities.
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