Edakkara, Malappuram: The police have arrested a 53-year-old man, who tied a pet dog to his scooter and dragged it along the road at Edakkara in Malappuram.
Xavier, who lives at Karunechi in Edakkara, was arrested. The scooter has also been seized.
In his statement, Xavier said that the dog had turned up at his house two weeks ago and that he was trying to abandon the dog as it had chewed on footwear at home and caught the chicken in the neighbourhood.
After the images of the dog being dragged along the road went viral on social media, Xavier had gone into hiding. He was arrested by police inspector P N Santhosh Kumar around 9 am on Sunday. He was then let off on bail.
A native of Gudalur in Tamil Nadu, he had started living at Karunechi recently. He is said to have worked in the Army for seven years.
Dog recovering
The dog is now under the care of the Nilambur emergency rescue force and is recovering. As it has been dragged on the tarred road, it has suffered serious injuries to its paw. The dog also suffered injuries to its chest and other parts of the body. To prepare the FIR of the case, the veterinary surgeon conducted the examination on Sunday.
After the incident, the Nilambur emergency rescue force team arrived at Xavier's home and took the dog under its care. Team member KM Abdul Majeed said that the dog was affable.
