Three injured in tiff over pet dog in west Delhi

Three people were injured after allegedly being hit with an iron pipe by their neighbour following a quarrel over a pet dog in west Delhi's Paschim Vihar area, police said on Monday.

It all started with the man attacking a pet dog of the family when he barked at him, they said.

The video of the incident also went viral on social media platforms where the man was seen attacking the dog while his owners were trying to save him.

According to police, on Sunday morning, a man named Dharamvir Dahiya was strolling on the street along with some stray dogs when one of the pet dogs of a resident of Block-A of Paschim Vihar started barking at him. Suddenly Dahiya picked the dog with its tail and threw it away.

The dog owner, Rakshit (25), came to its rescue but Dahiya attacked the canine again and it bit Dahiya. This led to a minor scuffle between Dahiya and Rakshit. After some time Dahiya came back at the spot with an iron pipe and hit the dog on its head, a senior police officer said.

He also hit another neighbour Hemant aged 53-years and Rakshit with the pipe. Later on, Dahiya barged into the house of Rakshit to take back pipe used in the assault and in the process, hit Renu (45), the officer said.

All the injured have been medically examined while Dahiya rushed himself in Park Hospital, Khyala due to the dog bite, he added.

The family that owns the pet dog fondly call him Scooby. He was severely bruised and has a blood cloth on top of his head, said Renu, who owns the pet dog.

She said Scooby was a pup when her family brought him home and it's been eight years since he is living with them.

''Scooby had only barked at Dahiya and he took offence to it and grabbed his tail and threw him away,'' she added.

Her 53-year-old husband Hemant, a chartered accountant, also suffered injuries on the back of his neck, when he bent down to save his pet dog, she said, adding that he still has swelling and is trying to recover from the pain.

Meanwhile, their nephew Rakshit, who was injured severely while rescuing their pet said that after his uncle was hit by the accused, he grabbed the iron pipe and pushed him back so no one else would be harmed. During this, he was hit several times on the head and was bleeding severely following which he got nine stitches.

The family also said that Dahiya's son Manjeet had threatened them on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, the police have taken Manjeet into preventative custody.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sameer Sharma said that on the statement of Rakshit, a case was registered under sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 451 (trespass) of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act at Paschim Vihat East police station.

Investigation of the case is in progress and facts are being verified, he said.