Indian-American hotelier Vikram Chatwal has been charged with criminal mischief for allegedly trying to set two dogs on fire, according to media reports in the US.
Website Patch.com reported 44-year-old Chatwal turned himself in to the police in New York on Tuesday morning.
He has been charged with felony criminal mischief, two counts of torturing an animal, reckless endangerment and two counts of arson, over an incident that occurred on October 7.
News website patch.com reported that the incident came when Mr. Chatwal had an argument with a woman walking her dogs outside his home.
“The attacker approached the woman and the two dogs and got into an argument with the dog-walker,” New York Police told Patch.com.
New York Post reported quoting a witness that Mr. Chatwal tried to set the dogs on fire using an aerosol can. The dogs reportedly suffered minor burns and hair loss.
Witnesses told the New York Post that Chatwal said the dogs had fleas and so they needed to be destroyed. "They must die!" he yelled at the dog-walker before burning them.
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