Malappuram | In an incident of animal cruelty, a man dragged a dog for over a kilometer, tying it behind his motorbike near Edakkara in the district.

Visuals of the incident have gone viral and were also aired on TV channels where the man's brutal behaviour is being questioned by a bystander even as the canine lies, apparently lifeless, on the road a couple of feet behind the two-wheeler.

As the bystander berates the man, he is heard trying to justify his conduct by saying that he found the dog dead on the road and as he did not want to touch it he had tied it behind his two-wheeler. The bystander, who shot the video of the incident, refuses to accept his claim and is heard saying that what he was doing was not right and if it was dead, the dog should have been buried somewhere instead of being dragged on the road.

As some others are also seen arriving there, the man picks up the dog and puts it on top of his two-wheeler's petrol tank and rides off.According to an officer of Edakkara police station, the incident occurred on Monday night.

"Based on the video we have launched an investigation. We have identified the man. He lives here in a rented accommodation, but does not hail from here," the officer said.He said that further details would be available as the investigation progresses, he said.

This is not the first such incident in the southern state which has witnessed several such acts of cruelty in the past with people reportedly tying canines behind two-wheelers and cars and dragging them.