A 53-year-old sweetmeat seller in Odisha was arrested on Thursday for allegedly killing 20 stray dogs with poison in the last five days.

The accused, Ajay Kumar Sahoo, was held following his latest killing of six stray dogs in the Shankarpur area of Choudwar in Cuttack on Wednesday.

“We arrested Sahoo after he confessed to the crime and admitted that he killed the dogs as they were creating nuisance in the area and near his shop. Their constant howling at night also disturbed his sleep,” an officer of Choudwar police station told The Telegraph.

State secretary of the People for Animals, Jiban Ballav Das, told this newspaper: “The accused had mixed poison in a food item and fed it to the dogs, killing six of them on Wednesday. Among the six dogs, three were pregnant and could have given birth in recent days.”

Das said the accused had mixed a poison called danadar (germicide) in gulgula (food item) and gave it to the dogs to eat. After consuming the poisoned gulgula, the canines vomited. They were all found dead on Wednesday afternoon.

Das said: “The accused has so far poisoned to death about 20 stray dogs, including these six. After we brought it to the notice of the director-general of police, the police today arrested the accused and produced him in court.”