How the brutal killing of a beloved street dog in India is changing animal rights

Bollywood stars are joining animal lovers in calling for stricter laws after the killing of Jai in Mumbai sparked widespread outrage. But experts say the real issue is not the legal system, but rather the way people treat animals in India today. Shahana Yasmin reports

A man covers his dog as he wades through a water-logged road during heavy rains in Chennai, India, November 11, 2021 (REUTERS)

Late last month the popular Indian television actor Sudhanshu Pandey received a distressing call from his wife while out for a morning walk. “She kept saying ‘somebody killed him’,” he recalled.

“I rushed to the scene, and saw him lying in a pool of blood. My soul is scarred forever from ... seeing the lifeless body of Jai,” Pandey, 49, explained in an interview with an Indian national. Jai was a beloved stray dog who stayed in Pandey’s apartment complex in an upscale neighbourhood of India’s financial capital Mumbai.

Over the next few days, details emerged about the gory circumstances surrounding the dog’s death, followed by calls for justice led by Pandey and other residents who looked after Jai and his brother Veeru (named after the protagonists of cult Bollywood film Sholay).