Police in Chennai have arrested two medical students, an inspector said yesterday, after video of one flinging a stray dog from the roof of a two-storey building went viral, sparking outrage.
The footage shows one of the students beaming as he lifts the dog by the scruff of the neck to the ledge and finally tosses her over.
The other student is thought to have filmed the incident.
An animal rights activist later found the dog injured but alive.
According to police, the students said during questioning that they threw the dog and filmed it “just for fun.”
Police arrested the pair, who are final-year students at a medical college in Chennai, and a local court yesterday granted them bail.
“The court has granted bail to the students. As per the bail order, they paid Rs10,000 each,” local police inspector Frank D Ruben said.
Police began searching for the students on Tuesday following a complaint filed by an activist from the government’s Animal Welfare Board of India.
Activist Shravan Krishnan found the dog and posted a photo on Instagram late Tuesday of him holding the injured animal, who has now been checked by a team of veterinarians.
One said the puppy had fractured her right leg but seemed otherwise unscathed by her ordeal.
“It seems to be a puppy of around five months old and presently the conditions and vital (statistics) seem ok,” said R Jayaprakash.
Earlier, the Indian branch of the Humane Society International offered a reward of Rs100,000 ($1,480) to anyone who could provide information for the students’ arrest.
Others called for stronger animal cruelty laws in the country.
“Med student smiles as he throws a terrified dog off a roof. Animal cruelty #law in India is a joke.#dogs#justice,” Twitter user B Jorgensen said.
In 2007, animal rights supporters created uproar when municipal workers in Bengaluru culled thousands of street dogs after a child was mauled to death by a pack of neighbourhood strays.
An animal welfare activist carries an injured dog after being treated at Tamil Nadu Veterinary University Hospital in Chennai yesterday. The dog was thrown off the roof of a building.
