Do you dial the ward office to complain about the stray dog menace in your area? Next time you can call the police that has the powers, it seems, to not just kill the dogs, but even detain, muzzle or sell them!

For, this is precisely what is categorically stated under the Bombay Police Act 1951 that mandates the police to take action against stray dogs. “The commissioner and the superintendent in areas under their respective charges may, from time to time, by public notice, proclaim that any stray dogs found, during such period as may be specified in the said notice, wandering in the streets or in any public place may be destroyed, and any stray dog so found within such period may be destroyed accordingly,” states Section 44 of the Act, which incidentally cannot be dismissed off as archaic either as it has been modified up to September 2006.

The law also states that the police can muzzle any dog found in any street or public place and not led by some person, in such a manner as effectively to prevent it from biting, while not obstructing its breathing or drinking. The police should inform the owner of the dog about the detention and ask him to pay the cost of detention and the muzzle. If the owner of the dog does not pay up in three days, the police have the authority to destroy or sell the dog and the money should be deposited in the state treasury.

... contd.