The video of the dog being thrown in Chennai had triggered outrage in social media.
A horror video of a squirming-with-delight, tail-wagging dog being thrown from a two-story terrace had shocked Chennai two months ago. Outrage had overflowed on social media and people had crowd-sourced information to trace the perpetrators. An activist located the dog, which had survived.
Now, two months on, the two final-year medical students involved in the heart-stopping abuse have been fined Rs 2 lakh each by the MGR Medical University -- a move that might relieve animal rights activists.
The two -- Gautam Sudarshan who had thrown the dog and his friend Ashish Pal who videographed the incident -- had been charged under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which involved a fine between Rs 10 and Rs 50. Although they were arrested, they were released on bail immediately - enraging animal rights activists who demand the antiquated law in force needs to be updated.
After horror video, Chennai dog, thrown from roof, was found alive by activist Shravan Krishnan.
On Tuesday, a committee constituted by the MGR Medical University decided to impose the more substantial fine following a direction by the Madras High Court. "We discussed a lot on this. This should never happen. That's the idea behind the fine," said Dr V Senthilnathan, the Dean of Student Affairs.
Madha Medical College, where the two had been enrolled, had suspended them after their cruelty to the dog came to light.
The little stray, which was then five-month old, was recovered and named "Bhadra", meaning "The warrior". She had suffered a fracture and has since recovered. The people who rescued her want to give her for adoption.