The festivities of Diwali are, more often than not, fraught with a battery of heinous crimes meted out to animals. On Monday, an unidentified man allegedly sexually abused a female canine to such an extent that she developed a transmissible venereal tumor (TVT), also known as venereal granuloma.

Roxanne Davur, owner of Probably Paradise Shelter (PPS), has been taking care of the two-year-old canine, named Titch. Davur has sent a written complaint to the Karjat police station.

According to Davur, Titch was sterilised 2 years ago, which means that she cannot get infected by an infected dog. However, the canine has developed vaginal granuloma (cancer).

Davur said, "Titch was residing with a watchman's family at Karjat. When the family went to their village, Titch disappeared from their home. On Monday, I found her behaving unusual and she looked traumatised. Later, we realised she had developed vaginal granuloma (cancer) from an infected person and not by any other dog because of her sterilization."

Karjat's ACP Vinayak Narle has confirmed receipt of Davur's complaint and said the station is awaiting the medical report. He informed, "After Davur receives the medical report from the vet, she has promised to submit it to us. Soon after, we will begin our investigation. We are trying to ascertain what sections can be applied if the medical report proves Davur's claim."

Echoing the sentiments of Davur, Salim Charania, president of Peace for Animals Welfare Association, said, "It is true that dogs can be sexually abused. Yesterday, I received a video of a young boy sexually abusing a dog. The incident may have happened at an animal birth centre, since the dog seems to be either sedated or dead. This case was reported to the cyber cell two years ago, but they couldn't crack the case."

About the video, Charania said, "Since the video is shot from a phone, it is difficult to trace the culprit. This is one of the most cruel things happening with animals and there should be strict punishment to the perpetrators."