GREATER NOIDA: A homemaker has lodged a police complaint alleging that residents of the Sector 137 housing society where she stays on rent have been forcing her to leave the flat because she feeds stray dogs The residents of Supertech Ecociti in Noida, on the other hand, have said that her feeding of strays have been attracting the animals inside the compound and posing a possible threat to the occupants, many of whom have been apparently attacked. The police are, however, clueless about how to proceed with the complaint and have advised the residents to sort out the issue through talks.The complainant, Poornima Mehta, said she had been living in the housing society with her husband and one-year-old daughter on rent for the past two years. She agreed she had been feeding the six adult dogs and nine puppies in the society, and had even warned the guards and some residents against beating the animals.Mehta said she feared for the dogs because a few residents had even threatened to poison the animals on a WhatsApp group. Torturing a dog can attract a maximum fine of Rs 100 or imprisonment up to three months, or both, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.“There were 3-4 dogs when I came to this society and they appeared scared and helpless. I started giving them food to make them friendly and so that they could be sterilised easily. But the residents slowly went against me and kept attacking the animals with sticks to keep them at bay,” said Mehta, whose husband is the creative director of an advertising firm.Ties between Mehta and the residents turned all the more testy when she called police to the society on August 19, alleging that a few residents had asked the guards to beat up the dogs with sticks. “But instead of telling them not to take law in their hands, the police asked me to stop complaining because they, too, thought that dogs were creating a nuisance,” she said. “Since then, the residents have been forcing the facility manager and my landlord to throw me out of the society,” she added.Sunil Mathews, a member of the apartment owners’ association and Supreme Court lawyer, said he raised the issue of dog menace in the society after his eight-year-old son was attacked by two strays.“The woman, along with another resident, is responsible for bringing stray dogs into the society. The animals have made the society their home. They not only create a mess by defecating here and there, they also attack the residents, mostly kids,” Mathews said.Some residents claimed there had been at least 10 cases of dog bites in the society in the past one month.Amit Kumar Tyagi, facility manager at the housing society, said he had received several e-mails from residents who thought the woman should be asked to leave the society. “I have informed her landlord about the residents’ complaints. I have also initiated the process of sterilisation of dogs in the society,” Tyagi added.Muneesh Chauhan, the SHO of Surajpur police station, said no case had been filed in the matter. “People were asked to resolve the issue through discussion. The rest is under investigation,” Chauhan said.

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