THANE, April 1 -- Multiple incidents of dog bites within a housing society, enraged residents who wish to rid the premises of the strays and two alleged canine enthusiasts, who sniffed a moneymaking enterprise, have led to complaints and counter-complaints being registered with the Kalyan police recently. On March 28, the Khadakpada police registered an extortion case against two purported dog lovers, following a complaint by members of Wadhwa Meadows, a housing society comprising 400 flats in 10 buildings, in Kalyan. The complainants alleged that one of the accused demanded Rs.16,000 for each stray to be removed from the vicinity. When residents refused to pay, she allegedly threatened to implicate others in animal cruelty cases. On the same day, police registered another case against a group of society residents based on a counter-complaint made by the two canine enthusiasts who accused the residents of cruelty toward animals and threatening to kill them. The crisis began on March 24, when a seven-year-old girl was bitten by two strays that had entered the housing society. She lost a tooth and sustained injuries in the attack. A woman who attempted to rescue her was also bitten. This was not an isolated case. Members of the society told HT that at least 100 dog bite cases have been reported there in the last three years, which have intermittently been reported to the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC). Following the attack on the child, the society decided to remove the dogs from the premises. But as residents tried to shoo them away, they were confronted by Ratna Purohit, a canine enthusiast and feeder who lives in the society. She argued against moving the dogs because they were born in the area. In his complaint to the police, Punit Malhotra, a society member, stated that Purohit introduced him to one Heer Rajput, an animal lover who asked Rs.2700 for the neutering two dogs involved in the attack. She reportedly told the members that the others - nearly 30 strays - cannot be removed and that it is the society's responsibility to provide them food and shelter. Rajput also claimed that she was associated with an NGO in Delhi and that she had informed animal rights activist and former union minister of women and child development Maneka Gandhi about the issue over phone. "I eventually received a call from a person who identified herself as Minakshi Awasthi from Delhi, who insisted that the society could neither remove the dogs nor deny them food," said Malhotra. This was followed by another call on March 26, when Rajput allegedly "threatened the society with dire consequences if the dogs were not fed within the premises". Malhotra alleged that Rajput later visited the society, caught the two strays and charged Rs.2,700 for the service, along with an additional Rs.700 citing a lack of shelter arrangements. Subsequently, she allegedly demanded Rs.16,000 for each stray to be taken away from the society and threatened to book them for animal cruelty and send him to jail, if the amount was not paid. "After the recent attack on the seven-year-old girl, over 100 residents approached the police station to file a complaint, as Rajput's demand is akin to extortion. Since registering the case, I have received over 500 calls from individuals claiming to be dog lovers and NGO members. Rajput has also circulated my videos on social media portraying me as a dog hater. My family, including my children, are receiving online threats and abuses," said Malhotra. Gajanan Vaze, secretary of Wadhwa Meadows said, "We have been complaining to KDMC about the stray menace in our complex. Civic workers visit when complaints are made and take the dogs away, only to release them after a few days in our complex without neutering them." When HT reached out to Rajput, who claimed to be an Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) from Kalyan, she denied taking any money from the society, claiming that the first tranche of payment was for the dog catcher, and that the society had issued a voucher for it. "We do not run a shelter home. The Rs.16,000 mentioned was to be paid directly to a shelter facility, not to me," Rajput claimed. Satish Patil, investigating officer at Khadakpada police station, said, "We have reviewed CCTV footage from the premises and found no evidence of the dogs being beaten or subjected to cruelty. Residents were seen shooing them away after the attacks on a child and a woman. A counter-complaint has also been filed by the dog lover, and the matter is under investigation."...