Courage, the Dog Brutally Assaulted by 4 Men in Mumbai, Dies

An auto rickshaw driver claims that the dog was sexually assaulted by the four drunk men.

Image used for representational purposes only.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@lilianacostas)

A stray dog, which was brutally assaulted by four intoxicated men in Mumbai’s Malvani, died on Wednesday, 21 November, four days after the canine was rescued in a bad shape.

Local resident Sudha Fernandes had first spotted the dog, following which it was rescued by Animals Matter To Me, an NGO that works towards animal welfare. According to Mumbai Mirror, Fernandes tried feeding the dog, when she saw a stream of blood running through its legs.

According to her, an autorickshaw driver, who was sleeping near Malvani church a night before, saw four drunk men sexually assaulting the dog, Mumbai Mirror reported.

“The auto driver said he was sleeping in his auto parked very close to the church the previous night. He was woken up by the shrieks of the dog. He said he saw four men, appearing drunk, who had tied up the dog’s limbs and were forcing themselves on him,”

Sudha Fernandes said in the complaint she registered with Malvani police on Monday, 19 November, <a href="https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/crime/dog-dies-after-being-assaulted-by-drunk-men-in-malads-malvani/articleshow/66753099.cms">Mumbai Mirror</a> reported.

However, police have denied reports that the dog was raped. According to the police, the medical reports don’t establish rape, although they admit that the dog was brutally assaulted.

Animals Matter to Me, the NGO, told The Quint that there are no medical report to prove that the dog was raped. However, the NGO IS waiting for the postmortem reports for further clarification.

The NGO, that had named the dog courage, confirmed on Wednesday that he succumbed to his injuries.

A case has been registered against four unidentified men for animal cruelty.

India witnesses huge number of cases of animal cruelty, what do the animal protection laws in India say?

How Legally Safe Are Animals?

Although same sex intercourse has been decriminalised under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, human intercourse with animals still remains a punishable and non- bailable offence, which could leave one with life imprisonment or invite a jail term of upto ten years.

According to Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, a first time offender liable to pay maximum fine of Rs 50 . If the second or the subsequent offence is committed within three years of the previous offence, a fine between Rs 25 and Rs 100 must be paid with and/or imprisonment upto three months could be possible.

(With inputs from Mumbai Mirror.)