SOHO — Hotel magnate Vikram Chatwal is being charged with animal torture after he set two dogs on fire using an aerosol can and a lighter on Wooster Street, police said.
Police said the two dogs — Jack Russell terriers named Molly and Finnegan — were with a dog walker when Chatwal, 44, came up to them on the street about 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 7, saying, "They must die."
Chatwal then used the lighter to produce large flames from the aerosol can and lit the back of one of the dogs on fire as the dog walker tried to run away with the pets, police said.
Police said Chatwal followed the dog walker, torching the second dog's back, and continuing to say, "The dogs must die."
The dogs' fur was singed and discolored, police said, and the dog walker reported feeling the heat from the flames herself as Chatwal was so close to her, police said.
Police said the dogs were treated by an ASPCA forensic veterinarian at a cost of more than $250.
Chatwal was arrested on Oct. 18, according to court records, and charged with two counts each of criminal mischief in the third degree, arson in the fifth degree and animal torture. He was also charged with one count of reckless endangerment in the second degree.
The criminal mischief charge is a felony, but the rest are misdemeanors.
The incident was first reported by ABC 7 after the NYPD division that cares for animals tweeted a "Wanted" poster featuring Chatwal, who was in the hospital after the incident, according to that report.
Chatwal appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, where he posted $50,000 bail after a judge issued an order of protection against him for the two dogs, their owner and their dog walker, according to the New York Daily News. He also had to surrender his passport.
Chatwal's attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment, but according to the News, the attorney said in court that the hotelier — founder of the Dream Hotel chain — has bipolar disorder and is a lifelong animal lover who would never intentionally harm one.
Chatwal's prior arrests include being jailed in Florida in 2013 after being found with illegal drugs at an airport, according to the News. He said a year later that he was a drug addict who had been in rehab 10 times.
He is due back in court on Dec. 8.
