Kolkata: A chilling case of animal cruelty has triggered widespread outrage in Bikramgarh neighbourhood as a youth reportedly killed both the pet dogs of his former live-in partner inside their flat on Saturday afternoon, ostensibly to exact revenge over their breakup. He even went on to make a video call to the girl and showed her how he had hanged one of the two dogs by a noose.Cops from the Jadavpur Police Station detained the accused, Sanjib Bhattacharya, from the Bikramgarh apartment following protests by residents of the area and animal rights activists.According to police, Bhattacharya had been living in a rented flat in Bikramgarh with his partner, a DJ. After their relationship went southward recently, the DJ decided to move out of the apartment but left her two pet dogs behind in Bhattacharya’s care, a neighbour said.Enraged by her decision to leave him, Bhattacharya apparently took out his anger on the helpless animals on Saturday. Animal rights activists claimed he made a video call to the DJ during which he reportedly shocked her by showing one of her pet dogs hanging by a noose around its neck. Terrified by the scene on the video call, the DJ immediately forwarded the footage and telephoned a youth in the Bikramgarh neighbourhood, pleading with him to go to the flat immediately and check on the dog.When the youth and some other residents of the area entered the apartment, they discovered that not one but both of the woman’s pet dogs had been killed. While one of the dogs was reportedly hanged with a noose, the other one—a puppy—was killed by bashing its head in with a brick, an animal activist said. Blood was spattered across the floor of the apartment. Residents claimed that they found Bhattacharya boiling water in the kitchen, raising suspicions that he intended to pour scalding water over the animals. Another group said he could have been boiling water to wash away evidence.As the horrifying news spread in the locality, actor and animal lover Debleena Dutt, accompanied by members of animal welfare organisations, visited the spot in the evening. Cops from the Jadavpur Police Station also reached the flat and detained Bhattacharya, who was reportedly found “mentally unstable”. Those gathered in the neighbourhood said despite the extreme brutality of his act, Bhattacharya did not seem to show any remorse.Demanding stringent legal action and post-mortem for the two dogs, Dutt recounted her interaction with the accused at the flat. “On learning about the incident, I went there. The accused gave his own name and proudly said he had been living with his girlfriend. He said that after she left him, he killed one of her dogs by hanging it with a noose and that he killed a puppy by smashing its head with a brick. He said he did it to take revenge on his girlfriend. I then went to the police station and helped register a complaint. I have requested for a postmortem report for both dogs as we believe the second dog was hit repeatedly on his head to death,” she said.Police confirmed that the accused was detained for questioning and that legal formalities were underway.(with inputs from Sarthak Ganguly)
