A combination of the need to impress a politician and the absence of sense — common or otherwise —has resulted in the ghastly deaths of at least two doves in the town of Kovvuru in Andhra Pradesh.
The Times of India reports that Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) workers, eager to welcome APC C chief N Raghuveera Reddy to Kovvuru, stuffed live doves into rocket cones and fired them into the sky.
Slightly flawed in theory, a disaster-in-the-making in practice. Unsurprisingly, two of the birds were killed as the rocked detonated, while the rest were left with scorched wings and claws.
To make the event truly memorable, party workers strung little party flags around the necks of the doves. And to make sure that the birds didn’t wriggle free before the grand finalé, they were stuffed into paper cones which were sealed.
Reddy, along with former minister Kondru Murali, Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramachandra Rao, West Godavari district Congress minister Rafiulla Baig and Mahila Congress president S Padmasri, arrived in Kovvuru on Saturday to attend a party meeting, The Hindu reports .
After complaints were lodged, the police filed a case under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Inspector P Prasada Rao of Kovvur police station told IBN-Live , “We are studying the video footage. The culprits who put the two (doves) in cones will be arrested.”
Meanwhile, Deccan Chronicle reports that Reddy has expressed his regret at the ‘dove rocket’ incident and stated that there will be no such things in the future.
We certainly hope not.
The video of this ridiculous incident can be viewed below: