Disturbing images of a dog reportedly buried alive in hot tar has horrified locals in Agra, India. Four people were arrested after images of the shocking incident went viral.

The distressing occurrence happened on the Fatehpur road on Tuesday night when construction workers were laying a road with tar, NDTV reports. The dog was inexplicably half-buried under the freshly-laid tar along the side of the road.

Video footage provided to RT by a local source shows the dog lying in the street, with its legs and some of his belly covered in tar. Social media users expressed anger and disgust at the news.

There are conflicting reports about whether the dog was alive when the tar was poured, with some saying it was sleeping or already dead, and others alleging they heard the dog howling in pain.

As news of the stricken animal’s death spread, activists gathered in the area and seized the construction crew’s vehicles. A number of people protested outside the Sadar police station, demanding action be taken against the “dog killers.”

The dog’s body was removed using a construction truck, freeing it from the set tar.

Agra police arrested the construction company’s supervisor, the driver of the road roller and two construction workers on Thursday morning. They appeared in court and were granted bail, the Times of India reports.

They should be punished seriously. We are humans, those who did this dont seem so, blind and inhuman. — amit CHAKRABORTY (@amit4967) June 13, 2018 Bde darinde log bhai... 😫😫 — सम(e)²r (@sameer148_) June 13, 2018 What the hell..what kind of people they are...👿👹 — Sajjan RajPurohit (@sajjanR) June 13, 2018

"The accused have been booked under IPC sections 428 and 429 (cruelty to animals), apart from section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act,” Sadar police station inspector Narendra Kumar Singh said. “On Thursday, they were granted bail, but we will thoroughly investigate the case and will question the owner of the construction company if the need arises."

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The accused said the dog was lying lifeless on the street and didn’t die as a result of the hot tar, however, witnesses maintain they saw the canine react in pain.

The Public Works Department (PWD) said it would issue a warning to the construction company, RP Infraventure Pvt. Ltd. The police reportedly did not send the dog’s corpse for an autopsy.

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