Who has been murdering the dogs in Mirpur?

Three dogs have been mysteriously killed in the last six months, including two in the past week alone, in Dhaka’s Mirpur Duaripara Western Housing Phase-2 area.

Locals are in the dark about who is behind the murders as the dogs, named Jolie, Lolly, and Promy, were loved by almost everyone in the area.

Although not domesticated, more than 40 dogs live under the protection of some animal lovers in the area. Many locals take care of three to four dogs each by providing them with food and shelter in front of their homes along with necessary treatment. 

However, some people in the area avoid dogs due to many reasons, including religious ones. “But they never acted like they were going to kill them,” Tarin Rahman, one of the local animal lovers, told Dhaka Tribune. 

Tarin said the latest incident, which was also the most tragic, took place on Tuesday.

Merciless deaths

Tarin’s mother Nazma Rahman used to feed the dogs every day at 11pm. She usually goes to the houses where the dogs take shelter and feeds them twice a day.

“On Tuesday night, I saw Lolly lying unresponsive next to another dog. As I approached, I saw a large round wound in the neck with blood clots. It was obvious someone had injured her with something like a rod,” Nazma Rahman recounted her horrible experience.

She and her daughter tried to feed her, applied antiseptic on her, but still Lolly could not lift her neck. “We decided to wait till the morning as we didn’t understand how deep the wound was.”

However, they found Lolly dead with a rope wrapped around her neck next to an empty plot the next morning. She was later buried with the help of locals.

On Sunday, the guard of a residence, which provides food and shelter to dogs, saw some white substance coming out of the mouth of a dog named Promy. 

The dog, which was also pregnant at the time, died a few moments later. Locals claimed that Promy had been fed with food containing poison.

Promy along with her four puppies used to get food and shelter from the owner of the house, Md Anisur Rahman Montu, who is also the advisor of the Duaripara Western Housing Phase-2 Landowners’ Committee. 

Anisur said: “I made arrangements for the dogs to stay in front of my house. My children feed them twice a day. They liked the dogs very much.”

Six months ago, college student Fariha Akther Mim saw some unknown people beat a dog named Jolly with sticks.

When she informed the locals of the area, they found the dog badly injured. Then another tragedy hit as the dog was found dead on the street, crushed under the wheels of an unknown car.

It is still a mystery who or what killed the dogs and why.

Locals now looking for the perpetrators

A resident of the area and wildlife filmmaker, Tanjilur Rahman, said: “They are targeting pregnant and female dogs. Many of us who feed these dogs have been threatened by some landlords. They have complained that the dogs are creating a mess in front of their houses.”

He said the animal lovers of the area were trying to find the culprits and had sought the help of local influential people in this connection.

Anisur Rahman, advisor of the mosque and landowner committees in the area, said: “I have already spoken to 33 guards in the area who told me they had not seen anything. I have instructed them to be more careful.”

“We have distributed leaflets to raise awareness on this issue and inform people about what the law says in this regard,” he added.

Shahin Kawser, general secretary of the landowner committee, said: “I have yet to receive any complaint from the locals. If they can say whom they are suspecting, I will look into it. We will also see if any outsider comes and commits these acts.”