The Mahbubnagar police on Tuesday arrested three men allegedly involved in shooting dead 20 dogs in the wee hours of February 16. A licenced 0.22 rifle used in the shooting spree was seized.
The prime suspect, 57-year-old Mandha Narasimha Reddy, is a resident of Red Hills in Nampally. The other two — Thariq, who owned the weapon and Reddy’s friend Tahir — are also residents of Hyderabad.
Reddy had left his two Dachshund dogs at his in-law’s place in Addakal village where street dogs killed one of them. Enraged, Reddy along with Thariq and Tahir reached Ponnakal village and opened fire on the street dogs at 1.30 a.m. They shot dead 20 dogs and injured five, a police official said.
Hearing gunshots, an ex-serviceman who was an eyewitness, spotted a high-end car going around with shots being fired. Based on the ex-serviceman’s information — who was initially taken into custody for questioning — and CCTV footage, police zeroed in on the car and arrested the accused.
