The more one looks at the circumstances attending the killing of two brothers, aged 7 years and 5 years respectively, at a forest abutting Vasant Kunj, the more one wonders who is responsible. The police have, with great alacrity, blamed stray dogs and a section of the media has parroted the version without question.
The problem with this version is that stray dogs are most unlikely to be found in forests. They are generally found in human settlements where they are fed by dog lovers and can access food from garbage dumps, meat shop scraps, restaurant left-overs and kitchen wastes. None of these sources of food is available in forests.
There are, besides, wild animals like leopards and hyenas which threaten their lives, and the destruction of whose habitats and the killing of prey they feed on, have pushed them close to human settlements for food. Forests at the edges of the National Capital Region have leopards and hyenas, while the presence of tigers has not been reported.
On March 14, 2023, the Delhi edition of The Times of India carried a report by Kushagra Dixit under the heading “Threats to leopards: Broken corridor, speeding vehicles.” According to it, ecologists had highlighted the threats facing leopards and hyenas in Delhi forests because of the existence of roads around the Asola Biodiversity Park. It further pointed out that north India’s leopard population was at risk of extinction because of road deaths. It cited sources pointing out that at least 10 leopards had died in the Delhi-NCR region because of road accidents since 2018.
The report provides yet another confirmation of the existence of leopards in forests in and around Delhi. Hence it is highly unlikely that dogs—which leopards eat–would be present in the forests abutting Vasant Kunj. Secondly, a report published in The Pioneer dated March 13, 2023, under the heading “Stray dogs kill 2 kids,” quotes the police as saying, “The injuries looked like animal bites. When we questioned neighbours and locals, it came to light that there are many stray dogs in the jungle area which attack goats and pigs.”
An Indian Express report on the same subject, also published on March 13, 2023, under the heading, “In Vasant Kunj: Siblings mauled by dogs, 2 days apart,” quotes the police as making exactly the same statement, “The injuries looked like animal bites. When we questioned neighbours and locals, it came to light that there are many stray dogs in the jungle area which attack goats and pigs.”
Even if the injuries looked like having been caused by animal bites, it does not mean that these were caused by stray dog bites. Nor does the mere presence of stray dogs in the area indicate that they had killed the two infants. This is particularly so because no one has seen stray dogs kill the two kids and it is most unlikely for stray dogs to be present in the jungles.
All this leads to two conclusions. First, jumping to the conclusion that stray dogs killed is a result of the kind of prejudice and hate that a very large number of people harbour against them. Second, there is a deliberate attempt to use the twin tragedies to stoke a hysteria against them and create a groundswell of demand for their mass culling, particularly when the Supreme Court is hearing an important case concerning them.
Finally, one does not doubt that the doctors doing the autopsy on the two children are qualified and experienced. In this case, however, one needs experience of injuries caused by wildlife, particularly experience in distinguishing between dog and fox bites and dog and hyena bites. Thus even if the autopsy pronounces that the two infants were killed by stray dogs, the finding cannot be taken as final.
Please find links to prove the above
https://www.dailypioneer.com/2022/sunday-edition/man-s-best-friend-under-scanner.html
PFA investigation into Rangpuri, Vasant Kunj incident
Without proper police and medical enquiry, it is shockingly irresponsible for anyone to issue any statement regarding the tragic death of two young boys in a basti near Vasant Kunj. It is reminiscent of the case in Gurugram where a student was killed by another student and the police fixed the blame on an innocent Bus conductor.
PFA volunteers had gone to the rangpuri site , met neighbours, the family and relatives and recorded their . The following are our findings.
The alleged Incident
Here, two boys aged 5 and 7 ( brothers) have been found dead in two separate incidents on two different dates.
The first incident took place on Friday, 10 th March when the boy aged 7 was sent to his aunt’s place in the morning. In the afternoon, the mother called and found child had not reached.
The family and neighbours went looking. They then called the police who later found the body in the jungle area somewhere. There was no reason why the boy should have gone into that area if he was heading straight to his aunt’s home.
There were no marks on the body except for a cut behind the neck.
On that day and the next ( Friday and Saturday) there was absolutely no talk of any dogs involved in his death. Police sent the body for post mortem and registered a case of murder under section 302. No media displayed any interest in this case of the mysterious death of a young child in the basti. There was no immediate coverage of the incident.
The second instance took place on Sunday 12th March. The child went with his cousin to defecate. The cousin said he took the boy just behind the wall, just some 30 metres from his home and everybody was around . It was morning time. For some reason, the cousin went on ahead and he says he saw the child get up and head in another direction taking a different route to return.
When the cousin returned, he did not bring back the boy. After a while, he claims to have asked the mother about the boy. Then he went to look and found the boy, wounded and unconscious lying just here. According to him there were some dogs sitting near the child. Several residents have stated that nobody saw any dog biting the child. Basti wallahs categorically said that they never saw any dogs biting the child. No dogs were seen biting and nor did anyone hear barking or screaming noises. Based solely on the cousin’s word that there were dogs nearby, it began to be said that it must be the dogs. Without a single eye witness , without any proof and without waiting for the postmortem report, the dogs were suddenly blamed not just for this incident but now even for the previous one of Friday.
Both instances were bizarrely clubbed together and dogs blamed for both.
Lack of evidence
No evidence confirms a dog attack. Even bite marks, if present, cannot be taken to be any indication of cause of death as there is an equal possibility of them being caused post death.
There has to be a clinical forensic determination as to whether any marks are pre or post death.
Here are the ways to tell the difference between ante and post mortem marks:
- Post death wounds will have less bleeding
- The colour of blood will be lighter and yellowish— not bright red.
- The distribution of wounds. In the case of pre- death, wounds will be mainly on the head and neck area and the hands will be severely wounded as they will naturally be used to try and shield those areas.
After death wounds would be more on the extremities. - Before death wounds will show what is known in medical terms as ‘vital reaction’ which means redness and swelling around the injured area as cells rush in to protect it.
No such thing occurs in post death wounds.
A trained eye can tell the difference.
Police cannot tell the difference superficially. It needs expert examination.
What local eye witnesses say
Basti members who saw the bodies say the injuries appeared more like knife wounds and it seems it was murder, even perhaps a case of organ theft.
There could also be a case of family enmity since two brothers were separately targeted. The concerned family has moved into the area just a few months ago. The father remains in the village as he is said to be mentally unstable. The mother and her three sons had moved here as they had other relatives in tbe community.
Fearing for their third child, the family has, in fact, sent him away. It is clear that they too think that it is their children who are being singled out— so they too do not believe that it was dogs who randomly harmed either or both of their children.
Nobody saw any dogs biting in either incident.
The second child was found very close to where many people were on a clear Sunday morning. No shouting, screaming or barking was heard.
The person who discovered body says dogs were sitting around the child but he never saw any dogs biting.
How incident is being misreported
But even before the post-mortem report is released, sections of the media are already blazing forth headlines blaming dogs. And the municipality has already moved in and picked up healthy sterilised friendly dogs for ‘observation’.
It seems dogs are becoming a convenient scapegoat for every unsolved crime.
In no other instance do official bodies swing into such swift action.
Rape and murder, investigations gather dust for years. In all cases, evidence is collected and contested before any conclusions are made or broadcast.
But here, where there are no eyewitnesses and no evidence , dogs make a convenient target.
The actual murderers will get off scot free, the police will not be burdened with another crime to solve, the press will have another sensational story to sell, the municipality will get an excuse to remove dogs, and haters will go on another spree of beating, relocating, torturing and killing innocent animals.
Conclusion
It is high time we stopped this witch hunt and returned to some semblance of reason and rationale. Dogs who are sterilised, well fed, looked after and loved by the basti residents do not just get up one day and harm anyone leave alone children whom they are familiar with and fond of.
Dogs may not be able to speak for themselves but their nature is known and their responses are predictable. The circumstances of this case do not fit in with the theory that is being made out.
It is false and unfair to attribute something to dogs that nobody saw and there is no evidence to support.
It is wrong for anyone to jump to the wrong conclusions. Especially the media. Please do not spread rumours and fake news.
Call for a proper enquiry and let us all learn the truth behind this terrible tragedy.
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