The police is actively probing the mystery behind the repeated cases of dogs being hacked to death. While some suspect that these are done as part of the training sessions for extremist outfits, the police is not convinced.
The special branch is probing the incident. It even constituted a team in Malappuram to probe the matter.
Over the last one year, seven instances of dog killings, all of them being hacked in the neck, were reported from various districts.
While a majority of incidents were in Malappu-ram and Kozhikode, isolated incidents were reported from Thrissur and Kollam.
“We are not totally ruling out the chances of extremists carrying out a training in chopping. However, we are looking into other possibilities too,” a senior police officer said.
The increase in the number of stray dog population is a serious cause for concern in many localities. Workers, mainly rubber tappers, who go for work during the early hours, often face the dog problem. The hacks on the dogs in many of the incidents showed they were likely done by a tapping knife.
Another angle the police looks at is the nuisance caused by dogs at slaughter houses, especially in remote areas. “There were also instances of dogs howling at the call to prayer from worship centres. This could be a provocation,” said a police officer.
Police however does not believe in the rumours that the dogs were killed with the intention of selling its flesh as raw meat.