'We were not aware that killing a dog and eating it is illegal,' say men arrested for eating a canine

Two men were arrested in the Indian capital city of New Delhi on Friday (25 August) for killing and eating a stray dog.

Police confirmed that 23-year-old T David Haokip and 20-year-old Lalminsang Khongsai, were arrested.

The incident happened on 15 August when four men, who hail from the North-eastern part of India, planned to celebrate the Independence Day by cooking dog meat for dinner.

A police officer investigating the case said, "Stray dogs are not easily available in Katwaria Sarai where Haokip lives. So they planned to party in Munirka at Khongsai's house.

"In the evening they consumed liquor and then went on the streets to hunt for a stray dog. They searched for the stray dog for over half-an-hour, but didn't find any."

The officer also said that the four were seen roaming in the streets of South Delhi's Vasant Vihar area. The CCTV footage from the area showed them looking for a dog to kill.

The men reportedly killed the canine with a brick and stuffed it in a bag.

In their statement, Haokip and Khongsai said that they did not know that they were going to commit a crime by killing the dog. "We were not aware that killing a dog and eating its meat is illegal in Delhi, as it is a common practice in the north-eastern states," the duo said.

However, it was not immediately clear what charges have been put against the two men.