Protests continue against dog relocation order in Delhi, FIR filed in India Gate gathering
Protests continued for a second consecutive day against the Supreme Court order to move stray dogs across Delhi-NCR to shelters within eight weeks, with hundreds gathering at Connaught Place on Tuesday evening, raising slogans against the Supreme Court directive and calling for its reversal.
Protests started around 4pm near the Hanuman temple and continued for an hour, before police dispersed them and detained several protesters in buses.
Protesters, meanwhile, alleged police brutality and said that a police officer could be seen slapping a protester in a video. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.
A senior police officer said protesters did not have permission to congregate. 'We gave them repeated warnings and even asked them to shift to Jantar Mantar, but they did not listen to us. They did not even seek permission for the protest. Since it was an illegal gathering, police had to remove them. While we were trying to put them in buses, men and women started fighting with our staff. Police staff had to use minimal force to control the protesters.'
When asked about the video, the officer said, 'We have not come across any complaint in this regard. We are verifying this video and trying to ascertain the sequence of events. If what is alleged is true, action will be taken against the staff. However, as per officers there, protesters became aggressive and had to be dragged and pushed. They also attacked our staff...'
Holding placards and waving banners, protesters said the top court's directive was in contravention of the Indian Constitution, alleging it would result in the loss of life. 'When the court talks about the Right to Life, does it only mean that it's exclusively for humans? Are these voiceless creatures not covered under it?' Avni Singh, a protester, said.
Another protester, Ishita, said: 'The authorities have no shelters, they have no infrastructure to feed them or sterilise them. This is such an inhumane order which will disrupt the city's ecosystem.'
Protesters said that authorities should pause before implementing this order and outline a detailed plan. 'The state doesn't have a policy in the first place, infrastructure is not there and now the police are not letting us protest peacefully. We are not doing anything illegal here, we are here to raise our concern,' a protester said before being dragged onto a bus.
Online campaigns gather pace
Activists called on fellow protesters to document the stray dogs, especially while being captured.
Gauri Maulekhi, an activist and trustee with the People for Animals (PFA), said it was important to document their movement. In a social media post, she said: 'If dogs are being rounded up in your area, document everything safely - how they are caught, kept and moved.'
She asked people to use geotagging apps to mark the location of capture or their final destinations. 'This evidence and photographs will become vital evidence for policy and legal action,' she said, asking for it to be shared on reportdogcruelty@gmail.com.
An online petition on change.com, seeking reversal of the SC order, garnered over 170,000 signatures on the day, as actor Simi Garewal also promoted it.
Sanna Singh, an activist director at Varaha Impact Foundation, appealed to the public to send emails to the Chief Justice of India, expressing concerns over the verdict. 'Make sure the subject line is unique. Within the body of the email, write a few personal emails as to why the subject is important to you, why we are opposing the relocation...' she said.
Alokparna Sengupta, managing director, Humane World for Animals India, said animal protection organisations across India were working on legal action, media outreach, research and public awareness campaigns. 'People across the country are speaking up against this order and raising awareness of its dangerous implications. Several of us are in the process of exploring legal options to ensure that welfare of these animals is upheld,' she said.
FIR filed in India Gate protests
A day after hundreds of people gathered at the India Gate to protest against the Supreme Court order on stray dogs, the Delhi Police lodged an FIR against the protesters under Section 223 of the BNS (disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant).
A senior police officer said: 'We have lodged an FIR based on the violation of law and order arrangements. We had repeatedly asked the protesters to not gather at India Gate. They did not listen to us and staged a protest. We tried to remove them but they manhandled staff and also resisted being removed. Despite repeated instructions, they didn't leave. Some of them pushed our female constables.'
Police said they detained a few people in connection with the protest.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
13 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
'Will Pahalgam killers, their masters decide?': J&K CM Omar Abdullah on restoration of statehood
SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday announced that he and his colleagues would launch a door-to-door signature campaign for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and hand over the document to the Centre and the Supreme Court before the next hearing in the apex court. 'Time has come that we have to move out from our offices and take our voices to the doors where these decisions are being taken,' Omar said in his Independence Day address at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar. It was the first Independence Day address in the Union Territory by an elected Chief Minister since Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded from a state to a union territory. Abdullah's remarks came a day after a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai observed that the 'ground situation' in the region must be weighed before restoring its statehood, stressing that 'incidents like Pahalgam' could not be ignored. The Chief Minister expressed disappointment over the remarks, terming the reference to Pahalgam 'unfortunate'. 'Will the killers of Pahalgam and their masters in the neighbouring country (Pakistan) decide whether we will be a state? Every time we are close to statehood, they will do something to sabotage it. Is this fair? Why are we being punished for a crime in which we had no role?' he said. Pakistani terrorists allegedly killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists, in the Baisaran meadow in south Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. 'My question is – if J&K is again to become a state, can our government not make such a decision? And for J&K again becoming a state, will this decision not be taken by the Supreme Court? For J&K to again have statehood, would it be decided by killers who perpetrated the Pahalgam attack or will it be decided by our neighbouring country, which is behind the militancy?' Omar asked.
NDTV
40 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Can Only Be Solved By...": RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat On Supreme Court's Stray Dogs Order
Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: Noting that all animals have the right to live, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the stray dog menace in Delhi can only be solved by regulating their population, and not by confining them to shelters. Bhagwat, a veterinary science graduate, commented on the controversy surrounding a Supreme Court order that asked the Delhi-NCR authorities to relocate stray dogs from streets to shelters. A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had acted in the suo motu case initiated on July 28 over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital. "The problem can be solved only by regulating the population of street dogs. But, it cannot be resolved by putting stray dogs in shelters," he said, while addressing a religious congregation at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack. Citing an instance, Bhagwat said that while milking a cow, Indians take some milk and leave the rest for the calf. "This is the art of striking a balance between man and nature. The nature should be conserved by maintaining a balance between development and environment," he said. Bhagwat, who addressed two sessions of the congregation attended by over 500 saints from across the country, said various issues associated with nature could be solved through traditional methods. "Indian soil is fertile because our farmers do not extract more from the earth. They use Mother Earth to produce grains required for consumption, unlike the Europeans who destroyed the soil in Africa by using excessive fertilisers for maximum grain production," he said. After the Cuttack meeting, Bhagwat left for Puri, where he visited the Govardhan Peeth. He then met Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati and sought his blessings. They reportedly also discussed key religious matters during the meeting. Thereafter, Bhagwat visited the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, who arrived in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday evening, spent the night at the Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti office in the Mancheswar area of the city.
The Hindu
43 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Will launch door-to-door signature campaign for J&K Statehood: CM Omar Abdullah
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday (August 15, 2025) announced he will launch a massive signature campaign to press the demand for restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and present those signatures to the Supreme Court. Referring to the observations made by the Supreme Court about the Pahalgam attack during the hearing of a plea for J&K's Statehood, Mr. Abdullah said it is unfortunate that people of the region are being punished for a crime in which they played no role. Independence Day 2025 updates In his Independence Day speech at Bakshi Stadium here, the CM said the Supreme Court has given the government eight weeks to respond. "From today, we will use these eight weeks to go door to door in all 90 assembly segments for a signature campaign on the restoration of statehood. If people are not ready to sign the document, I will accept defeat," he said. "We will have to take these voices from our offices to the doors where these decisions are taken," he said, adding that the signature campaign documents will be submitted to the Supreme Court. Mr. Abdullah said the reference to the Pahalgam terror attack during the hearing in the Supreme Court was unfortunate. "There were unfortunate comments in the Supreme Court that the Pahalgam attack should be considered when statehood is decided. Will the killers of Pahalgam and their masters in the neighbouring country decide whether we will be a state? Every time we will be close to statehood, they will do something to sabotage it. Is this fair? Why are we being punished for the crime we have no role in," he asked. "From Kathua to Kupwara, people came out on their own to protest against the Pahalgam attack. Unfortunately, today we are being punished for the Pahalgam attack," he said. Terrorists killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists, in the Baisaran meadow in south Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22.
