Veterinarians booked for death of dog at KCR's official residence; cruel joke, says Opposition

Hyderabad: A case has been booked against two veterinarians for allegedly causing the death of a pet dog at Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s official residence, with the action drawing flak from Opposition, which hit out at the government for ‘inaction’ over spread of dengue fever. The case was registered against the duo under IPC section 429 (Mischief by killing or maiming cattle) and relevant sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, on 12 September based on a complaint filed by a dog handler working at the Pragathi Bhavan, official residence of the chief minister. [caption id=“attachment_5659041” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of K Chandrashekar Rao. AFP[/caption] The complainant alleged that negligence on part of the veterinarians, one of whom was the administrator of the private vet clinic, in providing treatment to the 11-month-old ailing dog, which died on 11 September, police said on Sunday. Reacting to the registration of case, All India Congress Committee spokesperson Dasoju Sravan said no action was taken when six children died of dengue on a single day at a State-run hospital. He sought to know whether or not criminal cases for negligence should be booked against the chief minister and Health Minister Etala Rajender. The Congress leader further demanded that the state government declare health emergency in Telangana to take immediate measures to control the spread of viral diseases. Similarly, BJP Telangana spokesperson K Krishna Saagar Rao, in a release dubbed the action against the veterinarians as an “irony of sorts”. “It’s a cruel joke,” he said alleging the state was witnessing dengue deaths due to “criminal negligence” of the chief minister and the health minister. He wondered how many cases need to be booked against the two for their “unaccountable governance.”