The discovery, made during a joint raid on April 7, has raised questions regarding a municipal contract awarded to a Jabalpur-based private agency for the sterilisation of stray dogs across Mandla city. (Source: Express Archives)
Almost 800 preserved reproductive organs from dogs, stuffed into two containers, were recovered from a rented room in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla, triggering a police investigation into what officials suspect could be a fraud involving a government sterilisation contract worth lakhs.
The discovery, made during a joint raid on April 7, has raised questions regarding a municipal contract awarded to a Jabalpur-based private agency for the sterilisation of stray dogs across Mandla city. A joint team comprising municipal officials, the police, a tehsildar, and veterinary doctors conducted the search following a complaint by animal activist Nisha Thakur. Inside the rented premises, they found 795 reproductive organs preserved in formalin – 518 from male dogs and 277 from female dogs.
The Mandla Municipal Council had fixed a rate of Rs 679 per sterilisation procedure. At that rate, 795 procedures would have amounted to a payout of over Rs 5.39 lakh. The allegation is that the agency intended to present the organs as proof of completed surgeries and claim government money for work that was never done.
Mandla Chief Municipal Officer Gajendra Naphade confirmed a probe was underway. “The firm was awarded the work in December last year, but despite repeated requests, they did not start,” he said. “Due to this negligence, their contract had already been cancelled on April 2, and their earnest money deposit was being confiscated.”
He said that a complaint was received on April 7, following which the district administration ordered a probe and a joint inspection was conducted. “The origin of these organs and their intended use is under investigation. We have submitted an application to the police for registration of an FIR,” he said.
The sterilisation process, under municipal guidelines, was required to be conducted under the direct supervision of municipal authorities.
Veterinary and animal husbandry officials raised questions about the origin of the seized organs. A veterinarian attached with the probe team said that the standard sterilisation procedure “involves the removal of testicles in male dogs and the ovaries and uterus in female dogs, but that the recovery of such a large number of preserved organs pointed to something far outside routine practice”.
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Officials from the Animal Husbandry Department added that there is a specific, regulated method for disposing of organs after sterilisation procedures, and that “concealing them in a rented room in this manner was a serious violation”. The department has indicated that the manner of storage and the sheer volume of organs raise the question of whether they were sourced from outside Mandla entirely, possibly from other cities or slaughterhouses, and brought in specifically to fabricate evidence of completed surgeries.
Police have registered a case and begun recording statements. Investigators are examining all angles, including the source of the organs and whether any municipal insiders were involved.
