Indian Street Dogs Capture Suspect In Stabbing Attack

As if there could be any doubt that dogs are humans’ best friends. A dog’s loyalty to its owner or handler is not surprising. However, random street dogs that track down and capture someone who tried to murder a former love interest? That’s a different story entirely.

The weird situation happened earlier this month in the Indian city of Chennai. Formerly known as Madras, the city is among the subcontinent’s largest. Included in this population of nearly 9 million people are over 250,000 street dogs. Two of those stray canines, both named Puppy, witnessed a stabbing between two former coworkers.

The attacker, 23-year-old R. Raghunath, had recently lost his job as a mechanical engineer. His company fired him after a female coworker, C. Suchismitha, accused him of sexual harassment. Suchismitha, rather than a love interest, eventually became Raghunath’s stabbing victim. According to police, he waited for the woman outside of her hostel. When she left for work early in the morning, he stabbed her in the stomach and quickly ran away.

When the victim screamed in pain, the stray dogs sprang into action. Despite no connection to the woman, they gave chase after Raghunath. Before long, they caught up and began biting his legs, causing him to fall into a motorcycle. Injured and unable to run, the 23-year-old crawled into some nearby bushes. Meanwhile, the two dogs continued to bark and bite at the man. While the streets were nearly empty in the early hours of the day, a few bystanders eventually captured Raghunath and waited for police to arrive.

Police arrested Raghunath and charged him with attempted murder. His former coworker went to the hospital and received treatment for her injuries. In the aftermath of the stabbing, police questioned the bystanders who helped capture Raghunath. Authorities learned that, while homeless, the dogs receive food and milk from some of the rickshaw drivers. For now, the hero dogs remain on the street. However, there is talk that Suchismitha wants to adopt them.

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