A police complaint has been filed against Tambaram municipality officials and members of a private institution after a video on animal cruelty surfaced.

In the video, a dog is being dragged by leashes held by 2 men - one on either side of it - even as the poor animal continues to cry for help and is gasping for breath. The dog is heard screaming helplessly as the leashes around its neck left it choking.

The FIR was lodged following Union Minister for Women and Child Welfare Maneka Gandhi's intervention when she came across this disturbing video on social media. Maneka, who is also a well-known environmentalist and animal lover, found out that the video was shot in Chennai and has asked the Blue Cross to investigate the matter.

In response to a mail received from her, Dawn Williams from the Blue Cross in Chennai investigated the matter and got hold of the video showing 2 men involved in animal brutality. The video shot inside a private institution shows two men dragging a dog down a fleet of stairs, with leashes around its chest and throat.

Police complaint. Police complaint.

The dog unfortunately collapsed before it could be loaded into the van. Williams has found out that the vehicle used for transporting the 11 animals that were captured inside the institution allegedly without permission belonged to the Tambaram municipality.

After no one could answer satisfactorily what happened to the captured animals, Williams lodged a police complaint against Sundaram and Deva from the Tambaram municipality.

Unfortunately, the video exposes the callousness of the authorities when it comes to handling animals.

This is not the first time an instance of animal cruelty has come to light. In July last year, a dog was thrown off a terrace in Chennai.

WATCH VIDEO | Shocking video of dog choking after being dragged by 2 leashes comes to light