Target: Tenzing Loden Lepcha, Superintendent of Police, Sikkim Police, Gangtok, India
Goal: Identify and prosecute whoever shot a well-known community dog, and ensure every available investigative resource is used to solve this case.
There is no suspect in custody. There is no weapon recovered. There is only a community grieving a dog that residents knew and cared for, found bleeding from a wound investigators believe was caused by a high-velocity projectile. Until the person responsible is identified, justice is out of reach.
Residents discovered the dog severely injured after being shot in broad daylight. Animal welfare advocate Sagar Singh brought the incident to public attention, while Rebina Rai of People For Animals (PFA) Sikkim filed a formal police complaint and arranged for an official post-mortem examination before the dog was buried. Investigators are reviewing regional firearms records and ballistics evidence in an effort to identify who fired the fatal shot. The investigation remains active, no suspect has been publicly named, and no court has determined criminal liability.
The case has drawn national attention after animal welfare advocate Maneka Gandhi contacted the Superintendent of Police to raise concern about the investigation’s progress. Public attention matters, but it cannot substitute for methodical police work. If the person responsible is identified, they should face the full consequences permitted under Indian law. Left unresolved, violence like this risks encouraging more of the same while eroding public confidence in the protection of community animals.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear SP Lepcha,
The killing of a well-known community dog has deeply disturbed residents who believe animals living peacefully among neighborhoods deserve protection, not violence.
Investigators are reviewing ballistic evidence and firearms records to identify who shot the animal. Whoever that person turns out to be, the allegations against them remain subject to due process and should be evaluated through a thorough, impartial investigation using every available tool.
Please ensure this investigation continues with the urgency it deserves and that, once a suspect is identified, every appropriate criminal charge is pursued. Solving this case will show that deliberate cruelty toward defenseless animals is treated with the seriousness it deserves.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Pixabay
