A beloved dog named Keeper was brutally killed yesterday by a local resident, leaving a community in Dhaka's Elephant Road in shock and mourning.

The mindless attack occurred when Keeper was peacefully sleeping on the sidewalk outside the Sahera Tropical Center in Elephant Road, near the Bata Shoe Showroom at Bata Signal Intersection.

The man struck Keeper in the head with a heavy slab made of rods, cement, and sand, causing serious injuries that led to his death immediately.

According to the Animal Welfare Act 2019's section 7 (1) and (2) -- No ownerless animal shall be killed or removed except for any reason mentioned in this Act. If any person kills any ownerless animal, it shall be considered an offence under this act.

Also, if any person commits any offence under this act or aids in the commission of an offence, he shall be punished with imprisonment for maximum six months or with a fine not exceeding Tk 10,000 or with both.

Read more

Violence against stray animals has to stop

One local named Imtiaz Alam Beg, 51, who takes care of the street dogs in the locality, filed a case with New Market Police Station in connection with the murder.

Later, the perpetrator also got caught.

Imtiaz said, "We have a pet dog named Keeper, whom we have cared for over the past 10 years. We make sure to regularly vaccinate him to ensure that he poses no risk of injury or harm to anyone. Keeper was familiar in the local area, often walking around Bata Signal Intersection, Science Lab Intersection, and the surrounding streets."

Due to his friendly nature, he became quite popular, with locals frequently offering him food and treats. Everyone in the neighborhood knew and loved him, he said.

The postmortem of the keeper will be conducted at Fulbaria Veterinary Hospital today, he informed.

"We wish to get proper justice after the postmortem report reveal the cause of its death," he said.

Another resident, Md Shariful Islam, highlighted, "We initially thought that only a few people cared for Keeper, but when the incident occurred, the entire community was outraged. It turned out that everyone in the area loved him."

"Additionally, anybody can see the three beautiful dogs in the alley near the coffee house of the Science Lab, was Keeper's offspring. Just a few days ago, we had to make the difficult decision to neuter Keeper. Otherwise, all the dogs around the Science Lab area are his children."

Locals identified the perpetrator as Alauddin, who also lives in the neighbourhood.

Describing the aftermath of the killing, one of the witnesses and also a local resident Khademul Jahan said, "Alauddin was on the run all day. He thought that he would return after the situation calms down. He returned in the evening. But the situation had not calmed down yet. Rather, everyone was waiting. About half a hundred people in the area beat Alauddin."

Imtiaz Alam Beg, Khademul Jahan and a few others managed the situation and arranged for Alauddin to be sent to the hospital.

Alauddin had previously killed three dogs in the neighborhood, claimed other local people.

SI Ershad of New Market Police Station said, "We rescued the accused from the mob and sent him to DMCH for treatment. Then he was taken to the police station. This morning he was produced in the court. We hope that he will be brought to book for killing Keeper."