Three days after an Army officer was arrested for killing a pet dog,the owners of the dog are in mourning while hassled residents around Frere Road in Khadki are heaving a sigh of relief. The residents say the Dalmatian had made their life miserable. The owners say their pet had never bitten anybody. On Thursday night,Lt Col P Acharya of the 17 Rajasthan Rifles,Aundh,fired two rounds from his 12 bore gun,one in the air and another at the dog,killing it. The Acharya family argues it was in self-defence. The dog,about three feet tall,entered our bedroom where my daughter was watching TV. I was in the bathroom,my husband was in the courtyard. Hearing the cries of our daughter,we rushed to the bedroom. My husband pulled out his gun and chased the dog which ran towards the gates. The dog turned around and pounced on my husband who fired one round in the air and with the second killed the dog," says Sabrina Acharya. Col Acharya,who has got bail,admits he killed the dog to protect residents. His wife says,For a year now,the dog had been pouncing on everybody who used Frere Road. Through the day,it was let free. Despite complaints to the owners,cantonment authorites and the police,it continued. Sabrina says the incident was witnessed by none,and they could have denied it. We are saying,yes,we killed the dog to save human lives, says the mother of a two-year-old girl, and added,It had no collar which is mandatory for all pet dogs. The dog belonged to Udaysinh Sable family,living opposite the Acharyas. The Sables refute the claim that the dog had bitten anybody,but concede that after complaints from residents they had restrained its movements. A year ago,residents complained. Since then we have been tying it up for nearly 12 hours. We used to let him free only in the night. But even if it created trouble,nobody has the right to kill it, says Shradha Sable,daughter of Udyasinh I feared using the road. The dog always used to pounce on me, says 10-year-old Alka Navgundh. Kaunsabai Ghule (60) says it was a daily nightmare passing by the Sable residence. Havildar major Macchindra Ghule says a local resident was admitted to a private hospital for a month after the dog bit him. Babita Singh and K K Singh say,Achha hua.It created problems for all." Sabrina says,We are animal lovers,but this dog created trouble for everybody. Deputy Commissioner of Police Jalinder Superkar said the matter was under investigation. The Southern Command has also launched a probe against the officer.
