A disturbing trend has emerged in Mumbai in recent times. At a time, when women across the world are uninhibitedly coming out to report sexual atrocities committed against them, there is a marked rise in the number of sexual crimes committed against animals, be it dogs, sheep, goats or cows.
While Mumbai is generally touted as one of the safer cities for human beings to live in, unfortunately, if the recent incidents are to be accounted for, the same cannot be said for animals, especially dogs. In the last few months, there have been at least 4 incidents of bestiality that street dogs in Mumbai were subjected to. Depraved men, in a bid to satiate their sexual lust, targeted street dogs and raped them.
Here are the four incidents from Mumbai where men with twisted psyche made dogs the victims of their sexual lust.
20-year-old Toufeek Ahmed caught on CCTV raping a female dog
Yesterday, a 20-year-old Muslim youth identified as Toufeek Ahmed was caught on a CCTV surveillance camera sexually abusing a female dog. According to information received in the case, the incident took place at Kalina in Santacruz.
“The accused man is a hawker who sells bread in the locality. In the CCTV video, he is seen raping the dog, which is bestiality. After the FIR was lodged this week, the Valoka police went to his local address to nab him. However, he has reportedly left for his native place in Uttar Pradesh. We request the police to arrest him soon,” said Mahajan, the chairperson of Animal Rescue And Care Trust (ARAC).
A case has been registered against Toufeek Ahmed at Vakola police under IPC section 377 for unnatural sex.
According to Street dogs of Bombay, a collective that works for the welfare of street dogs in Mumbai, Toufeek, who worked as a hawker selling bread on roads, raped female dogs at midnight. As per the NGO, the accused Toufeek has gone missing ever since the video went viral. It is being suspected that Toufeek has returned to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh.
Ahmad Shah arrested for raping over 30 stray dogs in Juhu area
Last week, a 67-year-old vegetable trader Ahmad Shah was arrested by DN Nagar police station for sexually abusing a dog at the Juhu Galli area. An NGO volunteer had caught Ahmad Shah raping a stray dog. A complaint was lodged by Vijay Mohnani from NGO Bombay Animal Rights, who submitted a video to the police in which Shah could be seen raping the dog.
The police reportedly suspect that the vegetable vendor has raped over 30 dogs between 3 am to 4 am in the night over a long period of time. He allegedly offered the animals meat and raped them while they ate. The accused even claimed that since he had been feeding the animals and the animals “did not object”, it is not a crime.
Soon after the horrific incident came to light, there was a massive uproar across the country. Several social media users took to social media to demand justice for the sexually harassed dog ‘Sheru’ and demanded strict action against Ahmad Shah. Netizens voiced their opinion on the internet by trending the “#SorrySheru” hashtag and expressed anguish over the increase in cases of dog rape in recent days.
8-year-old female canine raped inside a shopping complex in Powai
Back in October 2020, an 8-year-old female canine named Noorie was raped inside the Galleria shopping complex in Powai, Mumbai. The dog was then taken to the animal care centre of the World For All (WFA) for medical treatment. To their horror, the veterinary doctors found an 11-inch wooden stick inside the dog’s genitals. The doctors have now removed the stick successfully. Meanwhile, the police have arrested one accused in the case.
While speaking on the development, Bombay Animal Rights (BAR) activist Vijay Kishore Mohanani stated, “On October 22, some of the local animal figures informed us that the dog, Noorie, was found severely injured in Galleria. We suspect that some psycho who either works inside Galleria or lives nearby brutalised the very friendly dog.”
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Powai Police Station against unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 377 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The video of the injured dog, lying in a helpless state, had gone viral on social media.
Dog raped by a daily wage worker in Navi Mumbai
A week before the female canine Noorie was raped in Powai, a 65-year-old man was arrested for raping a dog at the Nerul railway station complex in Navi Mumbai. The accused has been identified as one Mahendra D Pawar. The gruesome act of bestality came to light after CCTV footage of the station complex, which captured the despicable incident, was sent to an animal rights group named People for Animals (PFA Mumbai, Unit-2).
While speaking about the development, PFA activist Vijaya Rangare stated, “ Around a week ago, a late-night CCTV footage showing a man sexually abusing a female dog on the west side of Nerul Station Complex was sent to our PFA Mumbai Unit-2.” After learning about the incident, he and his colleague Aditya Patil rushed to the spot and began inquiring about the crime. Soon, they were able to ascertain the identity of the accused, Mahendra D Pawar.
During the inquiry, it was found that the accused was a daily wage worker who slept within the Nerul Station complex, drank alcohol at night and abused the female dog. The animal rights activist further informed that the Mahendra was untraceable for some time and he was nowhere to be found in the station complex. On Sunday, a local informed about the whereabouts of Pawar. The Nerul police and the PFA team then rushed to the station complex and arrested the accused.
