Mumbai: St Xavier's ex-principal caught in animal cruelty row

An ageing dog is at the centre of a bitter fight between a parishioner and a wellknown priest at St Peterrsquos Church in Bandra The parishioner Sarina Lopez 55 who is an animal activist and volunteer with In Defence of Animals IDA has taken Fr Frazer Mascarenhas former principal of St Xavierrsquos College to the police station accusing him of hitting the dog JimmyAlso Read Mumbai Man arrested for stabbing dog after animal bit his daughterFr Frazer Mascarenhas the priest of St Peterrsquos Church in Bandra has been accused of hitting the dog rightldquoA happy healthy dog has become emaciated and is now limping because the church authorities have been illtreating himrdquo said LopezFather Frazer has however denied mistreating the dog ldquoI did not hit it or act violently in any way I just shooed the dog away from the church building After the complaint I was called to the police station and clarified the matter there as well Sarina Lopez is making false allegations against merdquo said Father MascarenhaslsquoChurch is starving dogrsquoSarina claims that the dog has been living inside the church premises for nearly 12 years Sarina told midday that on August 1 she saw Fr Frazer hit the dog and shoo it out of the church after which she filed a complaint with the Bandra police On August 8 she also met Additional Commissioner of Police West C Dorjee on the issueSarina said the dog had even been locked up in the church loft She said he was being starved and that a friend had heard scratching noises coming from the loft inside the churchRead Story Monkey chained up for hours under Bandra skywalk with no food waterShe further alleged that recently she went to the church to feed Jimmy but Father Frazer refused to let her inside ldquoWhen I asked him to go get Jimmy down he refused again I told that I would call the cops and when I reached the gate that leads to the loft I saw Jimmy coming down with one of his menrdquo Father Frazer on the other hand said ldquoDogs donrsquot follow rules they go wherever they wish to They go away for days and then come back when they wish to All these claims are baselessrdquoSt Peterrsquos parishioners seem divided on the issue ldquoThe church has cats and dogs walking in and out all the time But this particular dog Jimmy has become a problem lately He pees and poops inside the church This cannot be allowedrdquo said Rita DrsquoAlmeida a regular at the church Another regular at the church on the condition of anonymity said ldquoThe dog has been here for a while and has never been a problem He comes and goes as he wishes Now that he is old he comes and sits under the cross He is vaccinated and not dangerousrdquoAnother parishioner Merck DrsquoSilva said ldquoItrsquos a dicey situation Both parties are right and wrong but I wouldnrsquot want to take sidesrdquoPolice saysSenior Police Inspector Pandit Thakre of Bandra police station said ldquoThere is nothing that needs to be done The woman is a little disturbed and gets angry about little things She also yells at BMC officials and has been barred from the ward officerdquo