mumbai

Updated: Oct 22, 2016 01:05 IST

A Vasai man ran over a sleeping stray dog inside his housing society, dragged it under his wheels for a few feet, coolly parked his car and went home. Why? The dog peed on the tyres of his new car.

CCTV footage of the gruesome act and a complaint of an animal lover who witnessed it while feeding strays in the area has got the police charging Saurabh Dukhande. He has not been arrested yet.

The stray survived but is in a critical condition at a veterinary hospital in Kandivli with a severely damaged spinal cord, police sources said.

The man runs over the stray and zips off to park his car. (HT)

The animal lover, Nanda Mahadik, told the police that on October 19, Dukhande was driving towards the main gate of his building, when he saw the dog sleeping near the entrance. Dukhande revved up his engine and ran straight over the dog and dragged it a few feet. Mahadik said she was horrified becasue Dukhande did not stop to check the animal, instead, just zoomed off to his alloted parking slot.

Mahadik rushed the stray to a hospital in Vasai. “But the vet there told me to take it to a bigger one in Kandivli as the injuries were serious.”

The next day, October 20, Mahadik approached the Manickpur police and narrated the entire episode. The police registered a case against Dukhande under Section 429 of the IPC — mischief by killing or maiming an animal — and also applied sections of the Motor Vehicle Act, an official said.

“We have not yet arrested the accused man.We have the CCTV footage from the building,which is evidence of the incident,” the official said.

Mahadik said the injuries could leave the stray immobile.