20 January,2021 04:57 AM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
Locals fondly called the female dog Motu
A stray dog died after she was hit by a BMW car owned by a Bollywood producer outside his society in Goregaon West. An animal activist has alleged that the Shaailesh Singh was driving the car at the time and he got the dog dumped somewhere when it was still alive.
On a complaint by the activist, Usha Soni, the Goregaon have registered an FIR against the "driver" of vehicle number MH02 FB 5001. Singh, a resident of Imperial Heights, has produced hits like Tanu Weds Manu, Madari and Shahid. Soni too lives in the same society.
Soni said she learnt about the accident on Monday night through their society WhatsApp group. The watchman said a BMW car had run over the stray, called Motu, she said. After the guard informed the car owner, another vehicle took the injured dog somewhere.
"I then confronted Singh who said his driver was at the wheel and the dog was taken to a hospital but doctors declared her dead. He didn't say anything about where the body was. The watchman said Singh was driving the car at the time," she told mid-day.
Soni said Singh also asked her to take back the FIR.
She shared an audio clip in which Singh's wife purportedly says their driver was not on duty that time. The voice also asks the watchman to take the dog to the hospital and that she will pay for the treatment.
Singh said, "Even I'm having the guilt inside me that the dog has died because of me. The allegations levelled against me are not true. I am cooperating with the police and trying to find where the dog has gone." He said his driver was taking the dog to the hospital but was asked to return midway after he said the animal was already dead. "I called a pujari for cremation but he said it could not be done after sunset. My driver then left the body at Lokhandwala back road and covered it with a cloth. A sweeper told us the next morning that a BMC vehicle took it away," he added.
