The cyber crime cell of the Chennai Police on Monday identified a man who was captured on video throwing a dog off the terrace of a tall residential building. The video had gone viral on Whatsapp and Facebook. Gautam S was first recognised by his classmates at Madha Medical College in Tamil Nadu. He is a final year MBBS student. The person who shot the video around two weeks ago has also been traced, but his identity remains unknown.
When the police went to arrest the duo, they were absconding. The police said Gautam went home while the other person returned to his village, reported The News Minute. Authorities will visit his college again.
“This issue had surfaced two weeks ago when the video was uploaded. However, when students of the college recognised Gautam and tried to reveal his identity, he threatened them,” said Shravan Krishnan, an animal rights activist who had accompanied the police.
The 33-second video, which runs in slow motion, shows a man holding a dog by its neck and then pushing it off the building while smiling. It ends with the animal lying still on the ground. The Humane Society International had offered a reward of Rs 100,000 to anyone who would provide valid information about the man.
Social media has been abuzz with stories of animal cruelty in the past few months. In March, a Bengaluru woman was arrested for killing eight puppies, in an incident that caused widespread outrage. Ponamma allegedly killed the puppies to teach their mother a lesson. In the same month, an engineering student was arrested for stabbing three strays in Delhi.
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