It is official. A dog is a man's best friend but a man is a monster. In a spine-chilling case of animal cruelty, a pet dog in the state of Kerala in India was brutally beaten to death by a group of youths at a beach on Monday. His mistake? Resting under a boat after his playtime.
Bruno, a nine-year-old black Labrador was mercilessly beaten to death by three youths at the Adimalathura beach in the Vizhinjam region of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala. The horrific crime came to light after one of Bruno's owners shared a clip of the attack on a social medium platform.
Following the event coming to light, netizens and celebrities alike took to social media condemning the ruthless attack and seeking justice. The perpetrators are said to have been arrested and released on bail.
Barbaric Display of Animal Cruelty
According to reports, the youths carried out the brutal attack on the canine for allegedly sleeping under the boat of one of the accused. In the 1 minute 30-second long clip, which has now been widely circulated across social media platforms, the animal can be seen helplessly hanging by his neck from the side of the boat on a fishhook. A youngster can be seen repeatedly thrashing the incapacitated dog with a heavy stick till his body goes lifeless and limp.
Conflicting reports state that the murder was captured on camera by a witness who shared the clip with Christuraj, one of the siblings. While some reports claim that the video was made by one of the accused. What is certain is that the clip made its way to Christuraj who shared the video of his pet being meted with unspeakable barbarity with the hope of seeing justice for Bruno's slaying. Reportedly, the police refrained from taking any action despite a complaint being filed.
"We came to know that they were burying the matter with the help of one of the relatives employed at coastal police station nearby. We felt we wouldn't get justice and we took to Facebook so that everyone would know what happened to our Bruno," told Sony P, one of the siblings, to the Times of India.
Death of A Beloved Family Member
Bruno was jointly raised by the families of eight siblings residing in houses close to each other. He was brought home at the age of one by Martin, another sibling. The four-legged family member had begun frequenting the beach for a swim every morning and returned home by noon. However, he went missing on Monday morning and did not return.
"He had been with us for eight years. Our kids played with him and he would eat from all our houses. He was family to us. It was recently that he started going to the beach. Usually he would go and return by noon," said Sony.
Andrew, the husband of one of the siblings, went looking for Bruno when he saw their family pet being savagely beaten by the trio. Despite witnessing the barbaric act, Andrew could do nothing as he was outnumbered. After killing the dog, the accused hurled his body into the sea. Andrew learnt that after his daily swim, Bruno was resting under the boat that belonged to one of the perpetrators.
Failed By The Law?
According to The News Minute, Christuraj had alleged that prior to their arrest, the accused threatened him and assaulted members of his family following the video going viral across social media platforms. The youths arrived at their home armed with iron rods and threatened them with the same fate as their beloved pet, added Sony.
She filed a complaint at the Vizhinjam Police Station. However, no action was taken against the youths and an FIR was not filed. A case was eventually registered after local NGOs intervened and prevented the burying of the incident.
Inspector G Ramesh, station house officer, stated that a case covering sections pertinent to animal cruelty has been lodged. "However, we have not taken the accused into custody yet as it turns out that the offenders, the youth seen in the video attacking the dog, are all under the age of 18 years," he told Times of India.
According to the latest report by India Today, the three youngsters were finally arrested on 1 July 2021. It stated that two of the youth have been identified as Sunil Ayyan and Sylvester, with only the last one being a 17-year-old juvenile. They were later released on bail, the report added. The police have said that the reason behind Bruno's slaying was enmity between the family and the accused.
Outcry and Call for Justice from All Quarters
Following the sharing of the gut-wrenching clip by Christuraj, Bruno's ordeal has gone viral across social media platforms. Not only has there been an outpour of condolences for the poor canine's death but also outcry against the three individuals involved in the crime. #JusticeforBruno has been trending across platforms such as Facebook and Instagram with numerous users sharing the clip and condemning the inhuman act.
Not only have netizens taken to social media to express their angst and disgust but they have been joined by several celebrities who deplored the heinous act that ended the innocent dog's life. Popular actors from South India such as Nazriya Nasim, Pavithra Lakshmi, and Nakkhul Jaidev, among others, took to their social media handles to seek justice for Bruno. Hindi television actress, Rashami Desai also tweeted condemning the act.
We don’t have any rules for I’ll treating animal in our country ?? #justiceforbruno
— Rashami Desai (@TheRashamiDesai) July 1, 2021
The uproar surrounding the violent incident has even spurred the Kerala high court into registering a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) oversee actions taken against instances of cruelty towards animals. The PIL was registered based on a strong-worded letter written by Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar. "Are we to continue on this path or are we to recognise the inherent worth of all living beings and respect their claims to inheritance of nature and planet earth?" read a section of his letter.
