HANUMAKONDA: Police booked cases against nine people, including the sarpanches of Shayampet and Arepally villages, in Hanumakonda district for allegedly killing around 300 stray dogs using lethal injections. The incident came to light on Sunday when police and veterinary doctors visited the villages to conduct a postmortem of the buried carcasses.Parkal ACP Satishbabu said that a person named A Goutham, on behalf of Stray Animal Foundation of India —an NGO in Karimnagar district — lodged a complaint with Shayampet police stating that hundreds of stray dogs were killed within Shayampet and Arepally gram panchayat limits after two hired individuals administered them lethal injections between Jan 6 and 8. Seeking action against those responsible for the dogs’ killing, the complainant demanded that the govt implement measures such as animal birth control, sterilisation, and vaccination to manage the stray dog population.However, sources said that village elders questioned the basis of the complaint, claiming that the action was taken in response to public demand during the sarpanch elections as the stray dog population had turned into a nuisance in the villages.Based on Goutham’s complaint, police booked cases against the two sarpanches and their husbands, as well as against a deputy sarpanch, two village secretaries and two daily wage labourers under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.