Dharampuri Police File FIR Against Dog Killings
The case was registered under Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, based on complaints that workers hired by the Dharampuri Municipality injected stray dogs with a poisonous substance, leading to their deaths.
Hyderabad:An FIR has been registered at Dharampuri police station in Jagtial district after around 30 community dogs were allegedly killed by lethal injections, following the intervention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) India and Stray Animal Foundation India, with the support of former Union Cabinet Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi.
The case was registered under Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, based on complaints that workers hired by the Dharampuri Municipality injected stray dogs with a poisonous substance, leading to their deaths.
“Those who abuse animals often move on to harming humans. For everyone’s safety, it’s imperative that members of the public report cases of cruelty to animals such as this one,” said Ishani Rathee, Cruelty Response Coordinator at Peta India.
The incidents occurred between the night of December 28 and the afternoon of December 30, 2025. Timestamped video footage shows individuals injecting dogs with a lethal substance, after which the animals are seen collapsing and dying. The same footage also captures the accused admitting that they were hired to carry out the killings and loading the dog carcasses into a vehicle for disposal.
Peta India said it worked closely with Telangana Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy, Jagtial collector B. Satya Prasad, Dharampuri circle inspector Ramnarsimha Reddy, and station house officer Mahesh to facilitate the registration of the case.
The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint by Adulapuram Goutham, Cruelty Prevention Manager at SAFI Foundation.
Peta India pointed out that Rule 11(19) of the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 permits the capture of community dogs only for sterilisation and makes their killing or relocation illegal. It also cited a Supreme Court order dated August 22, 2025, which upheld these rules and reiterated that dogs must be released back into the same locality after sterilisation.
Peta India also reiterated that sterilisation remains the lawful and effective way to control the population of community animals and noted that one sterilised female dog can prevent tens of thousands of births over a few years.
