Recently, CCTV footage of two women dragging a dog tied to their scooter went viral on social media. The incident that allegedly took place on June 20 at Century Enclave area in Patiala, Punjab was reported by Chandigarh Tribune.
According to the report, the suspects were seen tying a dog to their scooter and dragging it along in the Century Enclave area of the city on June 20. When a member of a Patiala-based NGO raised the alarm, the suspects reportedly left the dog on the spot and fled.
Upon official complaint filed by local NGO Chopaya Jeev Raksha Foundation, the police registered a case under Section 429 of the IPC and Section 11 (1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The founder of the NGO who filed the complaint told Tribune, "We have already pressed our volunteers into service for identifying both women. Prize money has also been announced for help in apprehending the suspects."
On one hand, while the volunteers of the animal-friendly NGO were on the lookout, the police too, raided several areas looking for the perpetrators. On Sunday night, around 9 pm, the police nabbed one woman suspect from the Ablowal area in Patiala. According to Patiala Bhaskar that reported the development of the case, the two women in the video were sisters-in-law and while one is arrested, the other has escaped to Bihar. The police are on the lookout for the other woman too.
Not the first this year, an easy way to teach a lesson
If reports are to be believed, in the last two years, similar cases have come to light from different cities, including Mangaluru, Karnataka, Surat and Gujarat. While in one case, culprits committed the crime for teaching the stray a lesson for biting his slipper, in another case, the guilty said they were just dragging a dog carcass and disposing of it. The CCTV footage in the case of the latter clearly showed the dog's limbs moving.
In most cases, while the police take action against the culprits and make necessary arrests upon investigation, in the absence of a heavy fine or punishment, most often or not, an easy bail is the way out.
Earlier this year, the government prepared a draft to amend the existing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, proposing a penalty of up to Rs 75,000 or three times the cost of the animal with a jail term of up to five years or both if an act of an individual or an organization leads to an animal's death. The department also proposed amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to hike the penalty for first-time offenders from the paltry "minimum of Rs 10 to a maximum of Rs 50" to "not less than Rs 750 extended up to Rs 3,750 per animal."
