NESCO employees booked for starving 26 stray dogs to death

Mumbai: A security guard and management employee of NESCO were booked on Sunday for allegedly starving 26 stray dogs to death at the exhibition ground in Goregaon.
NESCO, where large conventions and events are hosted, barred the feeders from entering the premises to provide medical assistance to 40 odd strays that were taking shelter amid torrential rainfall, alleged Mehek Sharma, 29, a resident of Goregaon East, in her FIR.
Sharma, an animal lover, told the police that she and her husband had been feeding the stray dogs for quite some time and they also took them to veterinarians in and around the premises, however, the security guard named Maurya and the management employee named Mini refused them from entering to offer care for the strays.
Sharma said due to starvation, at least 20 dogs died and six others were killed as they could not get medical attention, “We tried to speak to the management but they forbade us from feeding the dogs. They took out photographs and threatened us that we could not enter the premises,” said Sharma.
Based on the complaint filed by Sharma and the PAL Foundation for Animals, an NGO, the Vanrai police registered an FIR under sections 325 (mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal) and section 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“We are recording the statements of the employees and the management of NESCO to verify their complaint,” said an officer from Vanrai police station. When contacted, Mini, one of the accused, said, “My team at NESCO is looking into the complaint and I would not like to comment further on the matter.”