A day after a 90-year- old man was mauled to death by a pack of street dogs at Varkala, enraged locals allegedly killed a number of canines in the area today.

Police said they have registered a case in connection with the killing of the dogs. Though they did not specify the number of dogs killed, Kochi-based Street Dog free campaign head Jose Maveli claimed that around 100 dogs were killed by the locals. He alleged that the police faced resistance from local people when they tried to arrest those involved in the killing of the dogs.

Meanwhile, the body of Raghavan, who died after being mauled by a pack of stray dogs yesterday, was cremated in Varkala, becoming the second fatal victim of dog attack in the region in recent times after a 65-year old woman was killed by dogs in August at Kanjiramkulam near Tiruvananthapuram.

There is widespread condemnation of Union Minister Menaka Gandhi's remarks that cases should be registered under Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act against persons who kill street dogs.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala criticised her and called her a hypocrite.

BJP National Executive member from the state V Muraleedharan also flayed Maneka's statement. In a letter, she said the issue was not at all connected to her portfolio which is women and child development.