The family called up 7 animal helplines. A volunteer reached the spot later in the evening along with a vet who treated the stray dog

It was a scene reminiscent of old Hindi films in which the hero is dragged on the ground by a rope tied to his leg by a dacoit on a horse. Only difference in this case was the rope was tied round the neck of a stray dog dragged by two men in an SUV. The vehicle’s rear registration numberplate had a sticker that read ‘High Court of Gujarat’. The dog was only half-conscious as its howls pierced the air. And no, unlike the Hindi flick, the dog could not get up to get even with its tormenters. Instead, it lay in blood and in immense pain. 

A family passing by in a car on Saturday evening stopped this barbarism. Family members called several animal helpline numbers and stood there for four hours in fading light until help arrived, but perhaps too late. The Dawars were returning from Gandhinagar to their home in Ahmedabad when around 5.30 pm they saw a dog being dragged by a rope by two people near Sola Civil Hospital. The dog was howling in pain and the two men were sitting in the rear seat of the SUV. They stopped their car and T S Dawar, who works as faculty of sales and corporate training in an institute, rushed to untie the dog. 

Sisters Manmeet and Harmeet Dawar stayed at the spot for more than four hours to ensure treatment to the badly injured dog. (Inset) The driving licence of driver P R Zala, who fled the place when people gathered around him, showed him as employed with Gujarat High Court

“The vehicle was stationary when we arrived, but people gathered there told us that the dog had been dragged by a rope for quite a distance. We gave the dog some water,” said Dawar. For two hours after that his daughters Harmeet and Manmeet kept calling animal helpline numbers but either got no response or were told that their office would close at 6 pm. The Dawars asked the driver of the vehicle, P R Zala, as to why the dog was being dragged. “He produced an identity card issued by Gujarat High Court and told us that the dog was rabid and had bitten several people. 

When we told him that this was no way to treat an animal and catching rabid dogs is the job of AMC, he said the corporation had failed to catch the dog despite several calls.” Suresh Parmar, a resident of the government colony nearby, who had reached the spot told Mirror, “The dog had bitten me earlier. I saw two persons dragging it with a rope from behind a running vehicle and followed it.” 

Dhirendrasinh and Ashwin Makwana said they were told by Sola police station to rush opposite Civil Hospital as the scared driver of the vehicle had reached there

POLICE SHIELDING THE DRIVER?
Fearing that the crowd that had collected at the spot could get aggressive with him, Zala abandoned the vehicle and rushed to Sola police station that apparently asked two cops in the field to reach the spot. The cops, Dhirendrasinh and Ashwin Makwana, told Mirror, “We were at the crossroads near Sola overbridge when we received a call from the Sola police station to rush opposite Civil Hospital as the scared driver of the vehicle had reached the police station.” Wwhen contacted, PSO Bhurabha denied giving any direction. “No one has come to us for help and we are not aware of any such incident. We did not ask any policeman to reach the spot.” 

DOG UNLIKELY TO SURVIVE
Dr Aalap Pawar, who treated the dog, said, “The dog had internal as well as external injuries. It was bleeding through the nostrils suggesting that it may have suffered head injuries. It was drooling in blood. The dog was having a problem of anxiety and was paralysed. Its skin had scraped at several places.” Niraj Bhatt, an animal help volunteer who had reached the spot after being called, said, “The dog shows no symptoms of being rabid. This is a breeding season and it is possible that dogs get aggressive if they do not get a partner. I reached here at 8 pm and saw the dog was badly injured. We have given it medicines and injection and have put a cloth on it to protect it from the cold. But it is unlikely to survive. The dog appears to have been beaten up badly before being dragged.” 

ANIMAL HELP? 
Harmeet Dawar told Mirror that she had struggled to reach out to animal help foundations for three hours before a volunteer Niraj Bhatt of Save Birds reached the spot. “When I called up Jeevdaya Foundation, my call went to their voice mail. Asha Foundation told me that its vehicle was at Maninagar and to call back later. When I called again no one took the phone. Niraj Bhatt of Save Birds came around 8.15 pm and treated the dog. Half of them (animal helplines) did not pick up my call and I am assuming that they were not working after 6 pm.” Harmeet had called up Akhil Bharatiya Hinsa Nivaran, Van Chetna Kendra, Shantidoot Trust, Ahmedabad Panjrapol Sanstha, Jeevdaya Foundation and Asha Foundation.” When Mirror called up Jeevdaya Foundation, no one picked the phone. Jagdish Vaghela of Asha Foundation said that with one vehicle, it was difficult to attend to incidents on both sides of the Sabarmati river. “Sometimes the vehicle is at Bapunagar. It is difficult to reach SG Highway quickly from there,” he said. Mirror also tried the numbers of Akhil Bharatiya Hinsa Nivaran, Van Chetna Kendra, Shantidoot and Ahmedabad Panjrapol Sanstha on Sunday but none of them picked up the call.