New Delhi

A stray dog-catching drive in Rohini turned violent when a group of around 30 people allegedly manhandled Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) workers, vandalised their van, and forced them to release two dogs they had picked up following bite complaints.

The purported videos of the Monday incident, which have since gone viral, show men smashing the van’s windshield and shouting at workers – one voice can be heard threatening, “kill them”. The assault took place amid an ongoing MCD campaign to capture aggressive or ill stray dogs after a Supreme Court order on August 11 directed civic bodies to set up shelters for 5,000 strays within six to eight weeks.

The court had warned against obstruction of the process, cautioning that violators could face legal action. Since the order, the MCD has rounded up about 800 stray dogs, housing them in Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres across the city. According to MCD data, 26,334 dog bites have already been reported in 2025, including 9,920 at MCD hospitals and 15,010 at anti-rabies vaccination centres. Delhi saw 68,090 cases last year, and 49 rabies cases have already been confirmed this yeartill July 31.

‘Threatened to kill’

Following the Rohini incident, an FIR was registered at the .K.N. Katju Marg police station. MCD officials said their staff are now “scared” and will henceforth seek Delhi Police’s assistance before entering sensitive areas. “We will inform the local police before sending teams out,” said a senior official.

Om Prakash, the driver of the vandalised MCD van, told The Hindu that the group stopped the vehicle in Sector 3, Rohini, and “threatened to kill” him along with four other workers. “The group, armed with sticks, surrounded us and blocked our way. They were extremely angry and pulled the two dogs out of the van. They forced us to release one dog there and ordered us to return the other to Sector 16 from where it had been picked up,” he said.

 MCD officials confirmed that the captured dogs were meant to be taken to the ABC Centre in Sector 27 as part of routine sheltering measures. “This is our everyday work. We tried explaining that we were only following orders, but the crowd refused to listen,” said one official.

‘Self-styled dog lovers’

The FIR stated that the attack took place near Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Sector 16, Rohini. “We received a PCR call at 2.42 p.m. reporting that MCD workers had been manhandled while trying to catch stray dogs in the area,” said Rohini DCP Rajeev Ranjan. According to a complaint filed by Dr. Ravish Kasana, veterinary officer in the MCD’s Rohini Zone, a group of dog lovers began shouting and threatening the workers, forced them to release the dogs, and vandalised their vehicle. Dr. Kasana said the team had been acting on two separate complaints of dog bites. 

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel later shared a purported video of the incident on social media, describing the attackers as “self-styled dog lovers” and urging the police to take strict action.