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Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, April 17
An email sent by Central Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi to Patiala Divisional Commissioner Ajit Singh Pannu has caught the administration in a piquant situation. Maneka has alleged serious lapses in the dog sterilisation drive initiated by the Patiala Municipal Corporation claiming “an illegal contract to a group called Endangered Wild Life Society (EWLS) was given to catch and sterilise 5,000 dogs in Patiala”.
Instead of action or a direct reply, the administration is now wondering if the minister has written it in her official capacity as a Cabinet minister or as the chairperson of the People for Animals, an NGO.
A day after a veterinary doctor filed a written complaint against Maneka for allegedly threatening him, Gandhi’s email received by the Divisional Commissioner highlights that the EWLS group is unknown and it has given a fake address of Utttarakhand. “The law is that no group can be contracted with for sterilisation of dogs unless it is recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India. The DC refused to verify the group even after being told. The local administration gave them the veterinary Civil Hospital,” she states in the mail.
“EWLS president is Sukhvinder Singh along with a Dr Imran Ali. The dogs are killed through brutal catching, overcrowded confinement, no water or food, extremely poor surgery and same-day release—all of which is illegal,” it reads.
“I talked to the DC who is very defensive about what he has done and continues to maintain that the photos are fake. This is not true. Vishal Sharma is our inspector there and is a person of integrity. He has taken photos of dogs that have been released and of animals that have been operated on. The DC is now trying to discredit these,” she alleges, attaching some pictures of dogs with their wounds yet to heal.
“I talked to this Sukhvinder who said he was a poor man and had started this to make money. The vet is not a surgeon. He apologised for deception and said he was leaving immediately. They had no training in dog sterilisation, did not know how to catch dogs, and kept no records of their releases. The dogs that were thrown back onto the streets after sterilisation had gaping wounds, stitches that came apart,” she states, ending the letter “with best wishes Maneka Sanjay Gandhi” and no designation attached.
Sukhwinder Singh in his reply claimed his organisation was genuine and that Maneka Gandhi was targeting him as he was competing with the PFA. “Instead, she is threatening me,” Sukhwinder said.
DC Varun Roojam said he was contemplating a reply, but was verifying whether to write it to the cabinet minister or to her as the PFA chairperson.
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