Honappa Hosmani (35), a labourer from Karnataka who has been accused of raping street dogs in Pune's Tingre Nagar, is currently on the run, Govind Jadhav, Senior Police Inspector, Viman Nagar Police Station, told The Free Press Journal on Thursday.
"A case is registered against Hosmani under sections of animal cruelty. The accused is on the run. The matter is under investigation. After checking the facts, action will be taken," said Jadhav.
Aishwarya Chandanshive (27), a resident of Tingre Nagar, lodged a complaint against Hosmani at the Viman Nagar Police Station on Wednesday.
According to her complaint, Hosmani resides near her house and, on several occasions, assaulted street dogs without any reason. On August 3, Hosmani took a street dog and went inside a tin shed in the locality at around 3pm. When the complainant went inside, she found that the accused was assaulting the dog.
The video of this incident has gone viral on social media. In the video, Hosmani is seen approaching a street dog and taking it into the tin shed.
Members of the NGO Animal Haven, including Ragini More, Mrudula Waghmare, and others, gave a formal complaint at the Vishrantwadi Police Station alleging that a labourer was raping street dogs in the locality.
Earlier, in April this year, a man from Handewadi in Pune had accused a West Bengal native, Alimuddin Aminal Shaikh, of raping his female dog. The incident came to light after the dog's owner checked the CCTV footage.
Reportedly, the family was not at home when the dog was allegedly raped. During the interrogation, Shaikh admitted to the crime he had committed. Regarding the matter, a case was registered under Section 329 of the BNS and Section 11(1)(a) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, at Kalepadal Police Station on April 11.
