New Delhi: Don, the dog most wanted by Delhi Police until recently, is not aggressive and has never bitten anybody, said his owner and former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti, citing the medical report of his pet.
Bharti said his pet dog, Don, “cannot bite any one as he is a Golden Labrador”, a breed that is usually very easygoing, of a kind temperament and friendly even with strangers.
Bharti is facing serious charges of domestic violence. In a complaint, Bharti’s wife Lipika Mitra had alleged that in March 2013, Bharti had physically abused her, tried to strangulate her and ordered his dog to attack her, due to which she suffered multiple injuries.
Evidence of an attack by the dog, as alleged by Bharti’s wife, would depend on whether any marks were left on her body after so many months and whether these match with the dog’s bite.
When IANS visited Bharti’s office in Malviya Nagar late on Wednesday night, Don was seen lounging peacefully outside his owner’s chamber.
Bharti’s aides sitting around the 12-year-old dog said Don is a friendly dog and spends his time mostly sleeping and eating. He is also overweight and supposedly barks when the AC is turned off.
As one spoke to the legislator in his office, the canine sauntered in and looked around for a while. Soon a soft snore was heard. Don had decided to take a nap.
Bharti said Don’s vet, who had been treating the dog for the past two years, had endorsed the dog’s “peaceful nature” in a report.
“To the best of my knowledge, Don has not exhibited any signs of aggression towards me, my staff, other pets or their owners,” Dr Pradeep Rana of Niti Bagh Pet clinic said in the medical report.
Bharti said his dog would never attack a family member even on instructions of the owner. “My dog also ignores my command when I instigate it to attack anyone,” Bharti said. It was not clear whether he had ever tried to do this.
He said Delhi Police had “concocted a story to frame a strong case” against him by levelling a false charge of attempt to murder against him.
“It is easy to get bail under the offences dealing with domestic violence. Police know it. Therefore, the police slapped the serious charge of attempt to murder against me to create hurdles in getting bail,” he said.
The dog has drawn everyone’s attention after Delhi Police, while opposing Bharti’s plea for anticipatory bail in a trial court on Monday, submitted that his custody was required to recover the Labrador.
Bharti said the BJP has made a mockery of the law by misusing Delhi Police and made his dog infamous by citing it as case property.
Bharti on Wednesday joined the investigation and also took his dog to Dwarka North police station in west Delhi.
He refuted every allegation levelled against him and said the Delhi Police was working at the behest of the Prime Minister’s Office to tarnish his image.
“It was a matrimonial dispute, but the opposition misused it for their political cause. Instead of solving my family dispute, they tried to exploit my personal life,” Bharti said.
IANS