Karnataka High Court: Allows Police to File Chargesheet in DRDO Dog Case

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday permitted the Mahadevapura Police to file a chargesheet in connection with the disappearance of 21 stray dogs from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) township in Bengaluru [Rakesh Kumar Sahu & Another v. State of Karnataka].Justice M Nagaprasanna heard a petition filed by DRDO Estate Manager Rakesh Kumar Sahu and DRDO Cleaning Supervisor TG Sudhakar.During the hearing, the Court was informed that the investigation into the disappearance of the dogs had been completed and that the police proposed to file the chargesheet against Sudhakar and others.Justice M NagaprasannaAppearing for Sahu, Advocate V Vinay said that his client, who had initially been arrayed as accused No.1, had been dropped from the chargesheet. He requested that the Court record that proceedings against accused No.1 had been dropped.State Public Prosecutor BN Jagadeesh confirmed that the DRDO Estate Manager had been left out of the chargesheet."DRDO Estate Manager we have left. The chargesheet is laid against DRDO Cleaning Supervisor T G Sudhakar and others," the SPP submitted.The Court accordingly permitted the chargesheet to be filed before the concerned trial court.Advocate Vaishali Hegde, appearing for the Assistant Director of the Animal Husbandry Division, who filed the complaint on the missing stray dogs, submitted that she intended to file a protest petition under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). She submitt