A pregnant stray dog that was beaten up with a rod by a woman and a few others in the Odisha capital has died, as has one of the two puppies that veterinarians had to pull out before time as the mother was no longer in a position to give birth.

The dog succumbed to its injuries on Tuesday morning at Tarzoo Pet Care Hospital after eight days of treatment during which a surgery was performed on Sunday to revive it. During the surgery, the doctors had to bring out the two puppies the dog had been carrying. While one of the puppies died within three hours, the other is battling for life.

The inspector-in-charge of Lingaraj police station in Bhubaneswar, Sarat Chandra Patra, told The Telegraph, “An FIR has been registered by some animal lovers. A case has been started under IPC Sections 268 (public nuisance) and 429 (mischief by killing or maiming an animal), and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. We will arrest the people involved in the cruel act.”

The officer added: “According to the complainants, some people had mercilessly beaten up the stray dog. Unable to bear the torture, the dog had collapsed at the spot itself.”

“Later, she was taken for treatment by some volunteers.”

Purabi Patra, an animal lover and member of the Animal Welfare Trust Ekamra, told this newspaper that the members had been informed on April 21 that a dog had been assaulted brutally and was unable to lift herself and was crying in pain. “We rushed to the sport and took the dog to hospital. There, she was found to be pregnant and could give birth any moment,” she said.

“The treatment began immediately and a surgery was performed in an effort to save the dog. Two premature puppies were delivered. However, the stray dog succumbed to its injuries today morning despite our best efforts. What’s more worrisome is that a woman beat the dog so mercilessly. We have also mentioned this in our FIR,” Patra said.

“We have lodged an FIR so that the police can arrest the accused. We won’t allow the culprit to go scot-free. People should realise that animals too have the right to live in this beautiful planet,” she added.