A case that has quietly gripped Bengaluru’s animal welfare community for over a year has taken a significant legal turn. The Karnataka High Court has permitted police to file a chargesheet over the mysterious disappearance of 21 stray dogs from a heavily secured DRDO township, a development animal rights advocates are calling an important step toward accountability.
The order came from Justice M. Nagaprasanna, who has been overseeing the case, Rakesh Kumar Sahu & Another v. State of Karnataka, since it first surfaced in early 2025.
How the Case Began
The story centres on the DRDO Phase-II Township in Kaggadasapura, a residential enclave for Defence Research and Development Organisation personnel, where a community of around 21 stray dogs had long lived freely on the campus roads.
In March 2025, videos allegedly showing stray dogs being tied up, stuffed into gunny bags, and driven out of the township went viral on social media. Local residents managed to rescue three dogs during the incident, but the remaining 21 vaccinated strays, animals that had effectively become part of the neighbourhood, disappeared overnight and were never traced.
Given that the DRDO campus operates under strict entry and exit protocols, the disappearance raised uncomfortable questions. This wasn’t a case of dogs wandering off. It pointed toward deliberate human intervention inside a facility where movement is supposed to be tightly controlled.
Acting on complaints from animal welfare activists and the public, Vivek K. Bidarakar, Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry at the Bengaluru East City Corporation, filed a formal complaint. The Mahadevapura Police subsequently registered an FIR on March 9, 2025, naming DRDO Estate Manager Rakesh Kumar Sahu and Cleaning Supervisor T.G. Sudhakar as accused, along with three unidentified individuals.
A Legal Back-and-Forth
The two named DRDO officials moved the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the case, arguing the criminal provisions invoked against them were disproportionate and lacked evidentiary basis. On March 25, 2025, the Court granted an interim stay on the investigation, with Justice Nagaprasanna expressing concern over how the case had been framed.
That stay didn’t last. On June 23, 2026, the Court lifted it, ruling that the investigation must proceed given the seriousness of the circumstances, while clarifying that any eventual charges should be based strictly on what the probe actually established, not the broader allegations listed in the original FIR. The judge noted that CCTV footage documenting how the dogs were handled was available for examination, and that DRDO officials involved could ultimately end up as witnesses rather than accused, depending on what the evidence showed.
Where the Case Stands Now
On August 11, 2026, the Court permitted the Mahadevapura Police to formally file their chargesheet. Notably, DRDO Estate Manager Rakesh Kumar Sahu was dropped from the chargesheet entirely, with the State Public Prosecutor confirming the case now proceeds against Cleaning Supervisor T.G. Sudhakar and others.
The Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry, who had filed the original complaint, sought to raise concerns that the chargesheet had been “highly diluted” with several sections reportedly removed. The Court, however, declined to entertain this as part of the criminal petition, noting it wasn’t the appropriate forum for that objection.
Why This Case Matters
Beyond the legal technicalities, this case has struck a nerve nationally. It reinforces a principle animal welfare advocates have long pushed for: that institutional authority, even within a secured defence establishment, doesn’t exempt anyone from accountability under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
For India’s community dog population, which relies heavily on public vigilance and legal protection, cases like this set an important precedent. As the matter now heads to trial, it will be closely watched by animal welfare groups as a test of how seriously India’s justice system treats crimes against community animals, even when they occur behind the gates of a powerful institution.
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