Mauling incident: Kapurthala admn forms panel to check stray dog menace

Aparna Banerji

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Jalandhar, February 8

Apart from forming a five-member committee to tackle stray dog menace at Passan Kadim village, the Kapurthala district administration today said dogs at the village would be shifted to an animal shelter shortly. An animal welfare NGO in Kapurthala had been roped in to shift 15 dogs from near the Hadda Rori (animal carcass dumping site) and the village to the NGO’s animal shelter in the district.

Sultanpur Lodhi SDM Jaspreet Singh said the administration came to know about ferocious stray dogs at Passan Kadim and neighbouring villages through the Ram Pari incident only. Immediate corrective measures were being taken to improve the situation.

Jaspreet Singh, who is part of the five-member committee, said: “We have roped in a Kapurthala-based NGO, which will provide its own meshed vehicle (to ferry dogs) and shelter where dogs will be kept, before being released as per protocol. We are also seeking the help of the MCs in Jalandhar and Kapurthala to deal with the problem as effectively as possible.”

The five-member committee formed by Kapurthala DC Amit Kumar Panchal will be led by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development). Its members include the Sultanpur Lodhi SDM, DSP, BDPO, sarpanches of affected villages and Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry. The committee will act in strict compliance of government guidelines and periodic directives issued by the courts.

He said the committee would look into the problem at Passan Kadim, Nabipur, Chuharpur, Chaladha, Doda Wazir and Fattowal villages besides taking possible measures to redress the problem in right earnest.

Will leave village, says victim’s husband

After the death of his wife Ram Pari, Kewal Thakur on Thursday said he would now leave the village as it would be impossible for him to bring up his three children on his own. Hailing from Darbhanga in Bihar, Kewal had been settled in Punjab for the past 30 to 35 years. He met Ram Pari at the farm of a local landlord and got married here. While labour settlements across villages around Passan Kadim spend nights in fear of stray dogs, Kewal said the isolated location of these shanties also exposes them to the elements.

Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked a heartening bonhomie between Sikh landlords, farmers as well as migrant labourers working for them in villages. Prominent leaders, sarpanches and farmers from the villages were present during the last rites of Ram Pari.

Paramjit Singh Baupur, a resident of Baupur village, said: “Ram Pari and her sister lost their parents early on. They were brought up at a farm of peasants and have had a life of hardships. Since most of these labourers live in shanties near villages, they are especially susceptible to the elements. Today it is them. Next, it could be peasant settlements in villages. We totally support them and believe they need all help to deal with the problem.”

Speaking to The Tribune, Kewal Thakur said: “Dogs have been howling outside our huts for the past two nights. We live in fear at night. Neither have I eaten properly, nor have my kids been taken care of since the death of my wife. None of us have slept for two nights. Had a zamindar’s child died, there would have been a huge outcry. Now what do I do to take care of children? I will go back to my village. I have my parents and my family there. Nothing is left for me here.”

Amidst speculations by the police whether Ram Pari was murdered or whether there was a different cause to her death, Kewal Thakur, her husband, was also questioned on Wednesday. It was the peasantry and residents of Passan Kadim, Baupur and Chuharpur villages which stood up in favour of Kewal Thakur, vouching that it was indeed the dogs that had caused her death.

5-member committee to be led by ADC

The five-member committee formed by Kapurthala DC Amit Kumar Panchal will be led by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development). Its members include the Sultanpur Lodhi SDM, DSP, BDPO, sarpanches of affected villages and Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry. The committee will act in strict compliance of government guidelines and periodic directives issued by the courts.

‘None of us have slept for two nights’

Neither have I eaten properly, nor have my kids been taken care of since the death of my wife. None of us have slept for two nights. Had a zamindar’s child died, there would have been a huge outcry. Now what do I do to take care of children? — Kewal Thakur, husband of Ram Pari