2 staffers punch, kick dog at Thane pet clinic, horror captured in viral video

Two people have been arrested after a video of them went viral in which they were seen punching and kicking a dog at a pet clinic in Maharashtra's Thane. A police complaint regarding the incident was filed on Tuesday.

The incident took place at Vetic Pet Clinic located in R Mall in Thane. The clinic specialises in grooming and care of pet animals.

In the video, a pet clinic staffer was seen repeatedly punching the dog, whose breed is Chow Chow, on its face and back. A man who is filming the act was also seen landing blows on the dog as the animal struggles.

(The video below contains disturbing visuals. Viewers' discretion is advised).

After that, the dog was seen getting down from the stretcher and walking out of the room even as the man kicked it. The viral video has triggered outrage from various people, including several Bollywood actors.

When the video went viral on social media, Nilesh Bhange, an office-bearer of animal rights organisation PAWS, and a few others filed a non-cognisable complaint, an official told news agency PTI.

Police cannot conduct a probe into a non-cognisable complaint unless there is a magistrate's order.

Later, Street Dogs of Bombay, which describes itself as 'Being the Voice for all Animals', posted a video of the dog on its Instagram page and said that the accused were arrested.

The dog, Tofu, aged three years, is currently in stable condition, Street Dogs of Bombay said, while thanking the people and police for their swift response to the incident.

Street Dogs of Bombay said the dog's owner would take legal action against the accused.

"The owner of Tofu will be taking further action tomorrow morning (Wednesday). Regarding legal proceedings, the PFA team has indicated that IPC 429 (committing mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal) might not be applicable, so they are considering using the IT Act for the FIR. We have urged them to also include IPC 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) for attempted animal cruelty," it said.